This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project
to make the world's books discoverable online.
It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject
to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books
are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover.
Marks, notations and other marginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the
publisher to a library and finally to you.
Usage guidelines
Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing this resource, we have taken steps to
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying.
We also ask that you:
+ Make non- commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for
personal, non-commercial purposes.
+ Refrain from automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help.
+ Maintain attribution The Google "watermark" you see on each file is essential for informing people about this project and helping them find
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it.
+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liability can be quite severe.
About Google Book Search
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web
at http : //books . qooqle . com/|
Ill
NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 08188843 4
m
■--.■-•:■•.---,■----■-■--.-----.-
.'.-•-.«■-■'"•-•■■■
-•■"•"'"'- : ■-"'".- "
\
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
%%»»»%%«»%<»V»»%IV»IV%^» %*****+
THE
JOURNAL
THE ASIATIC SOCKETS'
OF
BiuraAi..
VOL. II.
«>%»*»»»*» »»%%>»%»v%%%%»v»%»»
3 itizedbyCc
Digitized by
Google
THE
1KDEXED.
JOURNAL
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY
OF
BEWOAL.
EDITED BT
JAMES PRINSEP, F. R. S.
SECRETARY OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
VOL. II.
JANUARY TO DECEMBER,
1833.
" It wifl flourish, if naturalist*, chemists, antiquaries, philologers, and men of science,
in different parts of Aria, will commit their observations to writing, and send them to
the Asiatic Society at Calcutta ; it will languish, if such communications shall be long
intermitted ; and it will die away, if they shall entirely cease."
Sir Wm. Jonbs.
^VlJ^/f^
Calcutta: \W:\\ y
FEINTED AT THE BAPTIST MISSION PEE 88, CIRCULAR EOAD
SOLD BT MESSRS. TH ACKER AND CO. 8T. ANDREW** LIBRARY.
1833.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
^w^i-^l*!
Digitized by
Google
PREFACE.
On completion of this second volume of the Joubnal of the Asiatic
Society, the Editor feels it to be due to his subscribers, as well as to
himself, to lay before them as briefly as possible* the results of the ar-
rangements which he contemplated carrying into effect at the conclusion
of the last volume; — more especially as a somewhat erroneous estimate
of the cost and circulation of the Journal found admission into a late
notice of the Indian Periodical Press, drawn up by the Editor of one
of the morning papers. The Journal is not published, as there
stated, by the Asiatic Society, but solely at the cost and responsibility
of the Secretary, who was Editor of it before he enjoyed the honour of
an election to that office. Since there never has been the least view to
profit, either in the Gleanings or in the present work, there can be no
object whatever in concealing any information respecting its publica-
tion; and it may be useful hereafter to find on record a note of the ex-
pences of printing, and the difficulties against which a Journal exclu-
sively scientific has had to contend, as well as the advantages which it
has enjoyed, in India at the present time. The following particulars
have therefore been extracted from the accounts of the two years now
terminated.
The amount of subscriptions to the Journal at one rupee per number,
including two extra numbers, in 1832, was Rs. 5148 8
From this, deducting 20 per cent, commission paid to
Messrs. Thacker and Co. for circulating it, 1028 11
There remained net subscriptions available, Rs. 4114 13
The Baptist Mission Press charged for printing and
stitching 500 copies, Re. 3742 10
And the 15 plates cost with printing, 416 5
Total 4178 5
Digiti
zed by G00gle
VI PR1FACB.
The result of the first year exhibits a sufficient accordance between
outlay and return. Of the amount subscribed however, only Rs. 3786
13 have been collected up to the present time, so that in fact there
was a deficit of Rs. 392 2.
The alterations which the Editor proposed and completed for the
second year were : —
1 . The saving of nearly half of the commission paid for the mere
circulation of the work (without responsibility), by undertaking that
duty with the aid of his establishment as Secretary of the Asiatic So-
ciety;
2. As a return for this favor, he proposed circulating the Journal
gratis to such of the paying members as should express a desire to
take it in.
The effect of this scheme has been as follows -.
Fifty members of the Society have availed themselves of the privi-
lege, which has made a deduction to the same amount from the
monthly receipts. The number of copies circulated, including those
sent to subscribers and societies in Europe, is about 450.
The number of paying subscribers on the list, is 320, which at 1 R.
per month, (including one extra number of Buchanan,) would give
Rs. 4480.
The expenses of printing 500 copies, of 670 pages,
at 4-5 per page, may be stated at Rs. 2,890
144 pages of Buchanan, at 4-8 per page, 648
Covers, table work, &c. charged extra, 250
40 pages of Appendix, at 5 Rs 200
28 plates (18 lithographs, 10 engravings*^, .... 480
Establishment for circulation, 600
5,068
Leaving a loss on the year of Rs. 588, or nearly as much as the sub-
scriptions of the members exempted from paying.
But it must be mentioned, and mentioned with a degree of disappoint-
ment which is almost disheartening, that of the flattering list of sub-
• For these the cost of printing and paper only is charged.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
PKBFACK. v y
scribers above given. 70 have not paid any part of the year's subscrip.
tioa, and as many more are still in arrears j so that a balance of
Rs. 1321-8 still remains to be collected. The actual state of the concern
is therefore by no means so favorable as could be wished, for it leaves
the Editor out of pocket upwards of 2000 Rs. as the reward of his
labour for two years ! But he will not for a moment suppose that the
balances outstanding are not recoverable : on the contrary the prin-
cipal difficulty lies in the distance, and the supposed want of a mode
of remittance.— Many subscribers are not aware, that letters containing
hoondeea for the amount may be transmitted post free to the Editor.
It will be remembered, that the Bengal Government were pleased
to bestow the privilege of free postage on the Gieaninqs and on the
Jouunai., on condition of the publication of the late Dr. Buchanan's
Statistical Reports. Under the impression (justly formed) of a corres-
ponding increase of circulation, consequent upon this liberal boon, it was
resolved not to incorporate these records in detached'lnotices in the
Joubnal, nor to diminish from its original matter*, but to publish them
as a separate work ; and one volume has accordingly been completed
containing 356 pages, which at 4-8 per page have cost Rs. 1,602
And a reprint of the first 108 pages, which became ne-
cessary on the subsequent extension of the edition from
300 to 500 copies.
216
Total, Rg. i 8 i 8
This expence has been incurred therefore on account of Government
in return for the postage saved, not to the work, but to the sub-
scribers of the JotmNAL. On the completion of the first volume
of Bucbanan. a second extra volume of an official nature on the
Monetary System was commenced, of which 50 pages have been printed
with 3 plates, being in fact an expence of more than 300 rupees not
included in the above estimate. The Government meantime placed the
remaining volumes of Buchanan in the Editor's hands, with an intima-
tion of its "desire that the printing of these records should be conti-
nued." It was therefore with no small feeling of mortification that
• Originally 32 pages only were given in each number, Utterly 64.
Digiti
zed by G00gk
V1U FEBFACB.
the Editor perused the following letter* announcing that the privilege
of free postage should cease from June next, especially after having
been honored, on an explanation of the nature of the work, with an
extension of the same privilege to the Madras presidency, in addition
to that formerly bestowed by the Governors of Bombay and Ceylon.
To JAMES PRINSEP, Esq.
Genl. Dept. Editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society,
Sir,
I am directed to inform you, that the Governor General in Council has resolved,
that after six months the exemption from postage, which is now enjoyed by the
Journal of the Asiatic Society, shall be discontinued.
1 hare the honor to be,
Sir,
Your most obedient servant,
Council Chamber, G. A. BUSHBY,
2nd Dec. 1833. Offg. Sec. to Govt.
It may reasonably be feared that many subscribers at distant stations
may be unable to continue their support to the work, when its cost
shall be enhanced by postage ; but (should it be impossible, on a pro-
per and respectful representation of the circumstances, to avert the
imposition of postage) every means will be taken of lessening the burthen
by sending the monthly numbers by the bangy instead of the regular dak.
On the contents of a volume which has already been perused by
nearly all to whom it circulates, it would have been obviously need-
less to make any remark, were it not desirable to prove that the favors
hitherto conferred upon the work by the Government of the country
had not been altogether misapplied.
Independently of the volume of Dinajpur Statistics, which forms a
model for the use of public officers engaged in collecting similar in*
formation, the Gleanings and the Journal have been the means of
bringing to notice many of the mineral resources of our vast Indian
Empire, and of leading to fresh discoveries by the announcement of what
had already been found ; coal may be adduced as an example,— of which
twenty or more different localities have been brought to our knowledge
through its pages, whereonly two were before known. Of the native mine-
ral productions, iron, copper, gold, &c. : — Of the native arts and manu-
factures, salt, nitre, turpentine, dyes, mills, &c. numerous original ac-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
PREFACE. IX
counts have been inserted : catalogues of woods, medicinal plants and
drugs : experiments on materials, wood, iron, cement ; — Statistical
reports; — descriptions of newly explored countries and people : — in fact,
it would be difficult to open a number of the Journal without finding
some information which must possess value in the eyes of a govern*
rnent* Contributions of a more exclusively scientific nature have, in
the mean time, continued to multiply, and the objects pointed out as
desiderata at home in the geography, meteorology, geology, and
natural history of this country, are in the course of rapid and syste-
matic elucidation. So numerous for instance have been the registers
of the weather offered for publication, that space could only be found
for abstracts of many. There has hardly been time for the collection
of materials regarding the tides of the Indian coasts, suggested in the
Rev. Professor Whs well's circular, (inserted in page 151,) but the
attention of those who have opportunities of eliciting the information
required, is again solicited to this object.
As a proof of the benefit conferred on science by the free and extensive
circulation of a periodical devoted to such objects, the Editor feels pride
in alluding to the ardour which his plates of ancient coins have in-
spired in many active collectors, and above all to the reward bestowed
on himself by the munificence of General Ventura, the most successful
pursuer of antiquarian research in the Panjab, who has presented to
him all the coins and relics discovered on opening the celebrated
Tope of Manikyala. They are now on their way to Calcutta.
That extracts and analyses of European science have not been more
frequent must be attributed once more to want of space and want
of leisure. The Editor would recommend all who seek for knowledge
of the progress of science in Europe to procure a copy of the .Reports of
the British Association for 1832, in which they will find every branch
discussed by the philosopher best able to give it illustration. To at-
tempt to shorten those admirable essays would be mutilation rather
than abridgment ; yet unfortunately most of them are too long for the
pages of a monthly journal.
On the subject of orthography of native words, the Editor is driven
to make one concession, for which he fears the learned Societies at home
Digiti
zed by G00gle
x PREPACK,
will denounce him as an apostate to the system of their leader. Every
communication, with hardly any exception, which comes for publication,
adopts the Gilchristian mode of spelling, or that modification of it which
has been ordered to be used in all Government records, surveys, &c.
An attempt has been made hitherto to conform the whole to Sir
William Jonbs' method, but necessarily there have been continual
omissions, and the contribators in most cases express themselves but
ill pleased to see their words transformed into shapes but ill accordant
with ordinary English pronunciation. The Editor has therefore re-
solved to adopt the middle course followed in Hamilton's Hindustan,
namely, to print all Indian names and words in the ordinary roman type
as they are usually written and pronounced, and to place in italics all
such native terms and proper names, as are corrected, and spelt accord-
ing to the classical standard of Sir William Jonbs : in many cases the
latter may be inserted in brackets after the ordinary word.
Where contributors have occasion to illustrate their papers by
plates, it will be a great convenience to the Editor to have the origi-
nal drawings prepared of the same dimensions as the printed page
of letter press, to save the trouble and expence of reducing them.
The Editor will not allode in this place to the severe loss he has
sustained in the death of some of the most able and constant suppor-
ters of his work, and the departure to Europe of others in the course of
the past year ; since he hopes that a more worthy channel will be found
for the record of their meritorious labours for the cause of Science in
India, in the Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, to which their names
belong, and in which their reputation must ever be cherished with fond
remembrance.
1st January, 1834.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS, 1833.
[The name* marked with an asterisk have availed themselves of the privilege of taking the Journal
gratis, as members of the Asiatic Society : d, after a name, denotes decetued or discontinued.'}
The Honorable the Court of Directors, (By the Secretary to Government, General
Department,) one copy.
•The Right Honorable Lord W. C. Bentinck, Governor General, &c. one copy.
•The Honorable Sir C. T. Metcalfe, Bart. Member of Council, one copy.
•The Honorable Sir £. Ryan, Knt. Chief Justice, one copy.
•The Right Rev. Lord Bishop of Calcutta, one copy.
The Venerable Archdeacon Corrie, one copy.
Subscribers for twelve copies.
The Physical Clas9, Asiatic Society.
Subscribers for four copies.
Hyderabad Book Society.
Subscribers for (wo copies.
P. Andrew, Esq. Calcutta.
Major A. Irvine, Delhi.
J. J. Malvery, Esq. Bombay.
Subscribers for one copy.
Abercrombie, Lieut. W. Hazareebagh.
Agra Book Club.
♦Anburcy, Col. Sir Ttaos. C cutta.
Artillery Book Club, Dum-Dum.
Atherton, H. Esq. Futtygurh.
•Avdall, J. Eaq. Calcutta.
Baikie, Dr. Ootacamund.
Baker, Capt. H. C. England.
Baker, Lieut. W. E. Seharanpur.
Ballard, Geo. Esq. Calcutta.
Barlow, J. H. Esq. Bagundee.
Barrett, M. Esq. Calcutta.
Barrow, H. Esq. Ditto.
Batten, J. H. Esq.
Batten, G. M. Esq. Calcutta.
Beatson, Lieut-Col. W. S. Ditto.
Beckett, J. O. Esq. Coel.
Bedford, Capt. J. Allahabad.
Bell, Dr. H. P. Calcutta.
Bengal Club, Ditto.
Benson, W. H. Esq. England.
•Benson, Major R. Ditto.
Betts, C. Esq.
Bird, W. W. Esq. Calcutta.
Blair, Major J. Barelly.
Blake, Capt. B. Cuttack.
Blake, H. C. Esq. Dhobah, near Culnah.
Blechynden, A. H. Esq. Calcutta.
Boileau, Lieut. J. T. Agra*
Boileau, Lieut. A. H. E. Ditto.
Bombay Asiatic Society.
Boulderson, H. S. Esq. Seharanpur.
Boulderson, S. M. Esq. Azimgurh.
Boutrons, T. Esq. Pumeah.
Brnmlej, Dr. M. J. Calcutta.
Brander, Dr. J. M. Cuttack.
Bridgman, J. H. Esq. Goruckpore.
Bridgman, Lieut. P. Agra.
•Briggs, Col. J. Nagpore.
Brittndge, Capt. R. B. BareUy.
Brooke, W. A. Esq. d.
Brownlow, C. Esq. Calcutta.
Browne, Capt. W. Seharanpur.
Brown, Lt. E. J. Engineers, Allahabad.
Browne, G. F. Esq. Jounpore.
Bruce, W. Esq. Calcutta.
•Bryant, Col. Sir J. Head Quarters.
•Burke, W. A. Esq. Ditto.
•Burnes, Lieut. A. England.
•Burney, Major H. Ava.
Burt, Lieut. T. S. Allahabad.
Butter, Dr. D. Ghazipur.
Bushby, G. A. Esq. Calcutta.
Byrn, W. Esq. Ditto.
Calcutta Periodical Book Society.
•Calder, J. Esq. Calcutta.
Campbell, Dr. D. Mirzapore.
Campbell, D. A. Esq. Nipal.
Campbell, J. Esq. Cawnpore.
Campbell, Dr. Arch. Moulmayne.
Carey, Rev. Dr. W. Serampore.
Carr, W. Esq. Calcutta.
Carte, Dr. W. E. Hansi.
Casanova, Dr. J. Calcutta.
•Cautley, Lieut. P. T. Seharanpur.
Chambers, R. G. Esq. Surat.
Cheek, Dr. G. N. Bancoorah.
Clarke, Dr. J. Calcutta.
Coignard, E. Esq. Junghipur.
Cole, R. Esq. Madras.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
XII
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
•Colvin, Major J. Delhi.
Colvin, A. Esq. d,
•Colvin, J. R. Esq. Calcutta.
Conolly, Lieut. E. B. Cawnpore.
Conoylaul Tagore, Baboo, Calcutta.
Coombs, Lieut. -Col. d.
Cope, Gunner, Meerut.
Cracroft, W. Esq. Dacca.
Crawfurd, W. Esq. Seharanpur.
Crommelin, Capt. A. Barrackpur.
•Csoma dc Kurds, Calcutta.
Cullen, Col. W. Madras.
Cunningham, Lieut. J. D. Rajmahal.
Cunningham, Lieut. A. Berhampur.
Curtis, J. Esq. CalcutU.
Dalby, Lieut. G. M. Calcutta.
De Courcy, R. Esq. Kishnaghur.
Delhi Book Society.
Dennis, Capt. G. G. Meerut.
Dickens, T. Esq. d.
Dixon, Capt. C. G. Ajmere.
Dobbs, A. Esq. Calcutta.
Dorin, J. A. Esq. Ditto.
Douglas, H. Esq. Patna.
Drummond, Capt. J. G. Allahabad.
Dubois, Col. A. Lucknow.
Duff, Rev. A. Calcutta.
Dunlop, Lieut-Col. W. Cawnpore.
Durand, Lieut. H. M. Meerut.
Eckford, Dr. J. Nussirabad.
Edgeworth, M. P. Esq. Umbala.
Editor Bombay Liter. Ga*.
Editor Calcutta Courier.
Editor Calcutta Liter. Gaz.
Editor Colombo Journal, Ceylon.
•Egerton, C. C. Esq. Calcutta.
Eisdale, D. A. Esq. Poona.
EUerton, J. F. Esq. &.
Elliot, J. B. Esq. Patna.
Elliot, W. B. Esq. Bauleah.
Erskine, D. Esq. Elambazar.
Evans, Dr. Geo. Calcutta.
Everest, Rev. R. Delhi.
•Ewer, W. Esq. Allahabad.
Fagan, Lieut. G. H. Cawnpore.
Fagan, Brig. C. S., C. B„ Neemuch.
Falconer, Dr. H. Seharanpur.
Fane, W. Esq. Allahabad.
Ferguson, W. F. Calcutta.
Fiddes, Col. T. Muttra.
Fisher, Lieut. T. Kachar.
Fitzgerald, Capt. W. R. Calcutta.
Forbes, Capt. W. N. Ditto.
Fraser, H. Esq. (Sear.) Delhi.
Fraser, A. Esq. Ditto.
Fraser, C. S. Esq. Saugor.
Frith, Iieut.-Col. W. H. L. Dam Dam.
Garden, Dr. A. Calcutta.
Gardner, Col. W. L. Laekaow.
Gerard, Capt. A. Hansi.
Gerard, Capt. P. Subatau.
Gerard, Dr. J. Ditto.
Gilchrist, Dr. W. Vixiaaagaram.
•Gordon, G. J. Esq. Calcutta.
Gorton, W. Esq. Benares.
Governor (His Exc. the) of Ceylon.
Gowan, Capt. E. P. Calcutta.
Graeme, H. S. Esq. d.
Graham, J. Esq. Calcutta.
Grant, J. W. Esq. Hurripaul.
Grant, Lieut. C. E. d.
Grant, Capt. W. Benares.
Grant, J. Esq. Calcutta.
Grey, E. Esq. Calcutta.
Greenlaw, C. B. Esq. Ditto.
Gubbins, C. Esq. Delhi.
Hall, Lieut. J. H. Kalladghee.
Hamilton, H. C. Esq. Bhagulpur.
Harding, Ben. Esq. Calcutta.
•Hare, D. Esq. Ditto.
Harris, F. Esq. Ditto.
Hart, Dr. T. B. Saugor.
Henderson, Dr. J. Agra.
•Herbert, Capt. J. D. d.
Hodges, Lieut. A. Sunderbunds.
Hodgson, B. H. Esq.Nipal.
Hodgson, B. Esq. Kishnaghur.
Holcroft, V. Esq. d.
Homfray, J. Esq. Care of Messrs. Jessop
and Co.
Horse Brigade, Artillery, Meerut.
Howrah Dock Company, Calcutta.
Howstoun, R. Esq. Backergunge.
Huddleston, Lieut. H. Goruckpur.
Hunter, R. Esq. Puri.
Hunter, J. Esq. d.
Hutchinson, Major G. Calcutta.
Hutchinson, Capt. F. Bombay.
Hutton, Lieut. T. Neemuch.
Inglis, Esq. China.
India Gaz. Press, Calcutta.
Inverarity, Lieut. J. Engineers, Madras.
Jackson, Dr. A. R. Calcutta.
Jeffreys, Dr. J. Ditto.
Jenkins, Capt. F. Ditto.
Jervis, Capt. Thos. Ootacamund.
Jones, Capt. N. Cawnpore.
Jopp, Capt. J. Poona.
Kali Kissen, Moharaja, Bahadoor.
Kean, Dr. Arch. Murshedabad.
Kennedy, Lieut. T. Bombay. 4.
Kerr, A. J. Esq. Malacca.
King, Dr. Geo. Patna.
Kassipersaud Ghoaa, Baboo, Calcutta*
Kyd, J. Esq. Ditto.
Laidly, J. W. Esq. Beerbaoom.
Lamb, G. Esq. Dacca.
Lambert, W. Esq. Allahabad.
Langstaa*, Dr. J. Calcutta.
Laughtoa, Dr. R. d.
Law, J. S. Esq. Surat.
Iindsey, Dr. A. K. Chanar.
Lindsay, Col. A. Dum Dam.
Lloyd, Capt. Rich. Calcutta,
Lockett, Col. A. Ajmere.
Logan, Geo. Esq. Seharanpur,
Login, J. *. Baq. H*deiaha4L
Digitized by
Google
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
XU1
Louis, J. Esq. Bouleah. d.
Louis, T. Esq. Moradabad.
Lowther, W. Esq. d.
Lowther, R. Esq. Allahabad.
Lushington, G. T. Esq. Bhurtpoor.
Macdonald, Lieut. R. Saugor.
Macdowal, W. Esq. Rungpur.
Macfarlan, D. Esq. Calcutta.
Macgregor, D. W. L. Loodianab.
MacCheyne, W. O. H. Esq. Nusseerabad.
Mackenzie, Lieut. J. 8th L. I. Cawnpore.
Madennan, Dr. J. Bombay.
Macleod, D. A. Esq. Assam, d.
Macleod, Col. D. Murshedabad.
*Macnaghten, W. H. Esq. Calcutta.
Macpherson, Lieut. S. Hyderabad.
MacRitchie, J. Esq. Bancurah.
Madras Club.
Mainwaring, T. Esq. d.
Malcolmson, Dr. I. N. Nagpore.
Mannuk, M. M. Esq. Calcutta.
Manson, Capt. J. Bittour.
Marshall, Capt. G. T. Calcutta.
Marshman, Rev. Dr. J. Serampore.
Martin, Lieut. R. Delhi.
•Martin, J. R. Esq. Calcutta.
Martin, C. R Esq. Ditto.
Martin, W. B. Esq. Indore.
Master, W. Esq. Calcutta.
• Mendez, F. Esq. Ditto.
Mess Library, nth Light Dragoons.
Miles, Lt. R. H. Futtyghur.
•Mill, Rev. Principal Dr. W. H.
Milner, Captain E. T. Almorah.
Military Board, Calcutta.
Military Library Society, Mhow.
Montgomery, Dr. W. Penang.
Montrion, Lt. C. Calcutta.
Moore, Capt. J. A. Hyderabad.
Morgan, R. W. Esq. Tirhoot.
Morley, C. Esq. Calcutta.
Morris, J. C. Esq. for Mad. Lib. Socy.
Madras.
Morris, J. C. Esq. Arrah.
Morse, Major A. Bombay.
Mouatt, Lt. James A. Kurnal.
Monatt, Dr. J. A. Pres. Bangalore B.
Socy. Bangalore.
Muller, A. Esq. Calcutta.
Murray, Capt. H. R. Noacolly.
Muzzufferpore Book Club, Tirhoot.
Napier, Lieut. R. J. Seharanpur.
Nash, Dr. D. W. Hyderabad.
Nicholson, Capt. M. Jabalpur.
Nicholson, S. Esq. Calcutta.
Nisbet, W. Esq. <f.
Noton, B. Esq. England.
Nusairabad Book Society.
Officers, 73rd Regt. N. I. Benares.
H. M. 16th, Chinsurah.
40th Regt. N. I. Allyghur.
19th Regt. N. I. Lucknow.
Oliver, Major T. Nussirabad.
Oliver, Hon'ble W. Madras.
Ommaney, Lieut. E. L. Dacca.
Ommaney, M. C. Esq. Saugor.
Ostell, T. Esq. Calcutta.
Pakenham, T. Esq. Calcutta.
Parental Ac. Institution, Ditto.
Parker, H. M. Esq. Ditto.
Patrick, W. Esq. Fort Gloster.
Patton, Capt. J. W. d.
•Pearson, Dr. J. T. Calcutta.
•Pemberton, Capt. R. B. on Survey.
Persidh Narair ^ing, Baboo, Benares.
Piddington, H. Esq. Chonadinga Fac-
tory.
Pigg, T. Esq. Calcutta.
Playfair, Dr. Geo. Meerut.
Plumb, J. R. Esq. Calcutta.
Poole, Col. E. Ditto.
Pratt, Geo. Esq. Purneah.
Presgrave, Major D. Saugor.
•Prinsep, H. T. Esq. Calcutta.
Prinsep, Miss, England.
•Prinsep, C. R. Esq. Ditto.
•Procter, Rev. T. Ditto.
Proprietors of the John Bull, Ditto.
Pyle, J. C. Esq. Futtyghur.
•Radhacaunt Deb, Baboo, Calcutta.
•Ramcomul Sen, Baboo, Ditto.
Ramsay, Capt. W. H. Head Quarters.
Ranken, Dr. J. Delhi.
Rattray, R. H. Esq.
•Ravenshaw, E. C. Esq.
Renny, Lieut. T. Agra.
Renney, D. C. Muttra.
Rhodes, D. W. Sylhet.
•Richy, Monsr. A. L. Calcutta.
Roberts, Major A. Ditto.
Robertson, T. C. Esq. Sylhet.
•Robison, C. K. Esq. Calcutta.
Rogers, Esq. Ditto
Ross, A. Esq. Ditto.
•Ross, D. Esq. Ditto.
Ross, Capt. D. Gwalior.
Routh, WdeH. Esq. Boolundshuhr.
Row, Dr. J. Bandah.
Royle, Dr. J. England.
Ruspini, Rev. W. Dinapur.
•Sage, Capt. W. Dinapur.
Sale, Lieut. T. H. Delhi.
Sanders, Capt. E. Cawnpur.
Sandy, T. E. Esq. Arrah.
Sandys, Rev. T. Calcutta.
Satchwell, Capt. J. Dinapur.
Saunders, Geo. Esq. Calcutta.
Saunders, J. O. B. Esq. Coel.
Scott, D. Esq. Burdwan.
Seaton, Lieut. T. Jamalpur.
Sevestre, Root. Esq. Calcutta.
Shaw, T. A. Esq. Chittagong.
Shore, Hon'ble F. J. Futtyghur.
Shortreed, Lieut. R. Poona.
Siddons, Lieut. H. Berhampore.
Simmonds, Capt. J. H. d.
Sleeman, Capt. W. H. Jabalpur.
Sloane, W. Esq. Tirhoot.
Smith, T. P. Esq. Baitooi.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
Smith, Samuel and Co. Calcutta.
Smith, Capt. E. Ditto.
Smith, Lieut. J. T. Musulipatam.
Smyth, Capt. W. H. Calcutta.
Smyttan, Dr. Geo. Bombay.
Society Nat. His. Mauritius.
Southby, Capt. F. S. Calcutta.
Sparks, Capt. J. P. Ghazipur.
Speed, D. W. H. Esq. Calcutta.
Spiers, A. Esq. Allahabad.
Spilsbury, Dr. G. G. Jabalpur.
Spry, Dr. H. H. Saugor.
Stacy, Lieut.- Col. L. R. Nussirabad.
Stacy, S. P. Esq. Calcutta.
Stainforth, F. Esq. Goruckpur.
Stephenson, J. Esq. Patna.
Stevenson, Dr. W. Jun. Calcutta.
♦Stirling, E. Esq. Allyghur.
Strokes, Dr. J. Hamirpur.
♦Strong, F. P. Esq. Calcutta.
Sutherland, Capt. E. Calcutta.
Sutherland, Hon'ble J. Bombay.
Sweetenham, H. Esq. Futtyghur.
Swiney, Dr. J. Kurnal.
♦Swinton, G. Esq. England.
Sylhet Book Club.
Tanner, Capt. W. F. H. Monghyr.
Taylor, T. G. Esq. H. C. Astronomer,
Madras.
Tayler, J. Esq. Dacca.
Telfair, C. Esq. Mauritius d.
Terraneau, Capt. W. H. Sylhet.
Thomas, C. Esq. Singapore.
Thomas, Dr. W. Barrackpur.
Thomas, E. F. Esq. Kemaon.
♦Thomason, J. Esq. Azimgurh.
Thompson, Capt. G. Hazareebagh.
Thompson, Capt. J. Calcutta.
Thoresby, Capt. C. Berhampur.
Tickell, Col. R. Barrackpoor.
Tierney, M. J. Esq. rf.
Trade Association, Calcutta.
Trail, G. W. Esq. Kemaon.
Tremenherlt, Lieut. G. B. Delhi.
♦Trevelyan, C. E. Esq. Calcutta.
♦Trotter, R. Esq. Gyah.
♦Troyer, Capt. A. Calcutta.
Turner, T. J. Esq. Seharanpur.
Twemlow, Capt. G. Arungaoad.
♦Twining, W. Esq. Calcutta.
♦Tytler, J. Esq. Ditto.
Udny, C. G. Esq. Calcutta.
Vicary, Lieut. N. Meerut.
♦Wade, Capt. C. M. Loodianah.
Walters, H. Esq. Chittagong.
♦Wallich, N. Esq. Calcutta.
Warner, Capt. J. H. Bauleah.
♦Watson, Col. T. C. Dacca.
Watt, A. Esq. Singapur.
Waugh, Lieut. A. H. Agra.
Webb, L. W. Esq. Surat.
Wells, F. O. Esq Monghyr.
Western, Lieut. J. R. Midnapur.
White, Rev. E. Cawnpore.
Wilcox, Capt. R. Gt. Trig. Surv.
Wilkinson, W. Esq. Pooree.
Wilkinson, J. E. Esq. d.
Winneld, Capt. J. S. Bhopal.
♦Wilson, H. H. Esq. England.
Wise, Dr. T. A. Hoogly.
Wise, J. P. Esq. Dacca.
♦Withers, Rev. G. N. Calcutta.
Wood, Dr. Arthur, Simian.
Woodburn, Dr. D. Shirghati.
Woollaston, M. W. Esq. Calcutta.
Zeigler, L. Esq. Setapur.
Digitized by
Google
CONTENTS.
No. 13.-JANUARY.
Page.
I.— Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Burnes and Dr. Gerard, from PlshA-
wsr to Bokhara 1
II.— On the Manufacture of Saltpetre, as practised by the Natives of Tirhut. By
Mr. J. Stevenson, Supt. H . C.'s Saltpetre Factories in Behar. . . 23
III.— On the Greek Coins in the Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. By James
Prinsep, Secretary. . . . . . . . . 27
IV.— Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites 41
V.— A method of preparing Strychnia. By J. T. Pearson, Esq. Assistant Surgeon. 42
VI.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society 43
VII.— Miscellaneous.
1.— Hot-spring at Pachete. By C. Betts, Esq... 46
2.— Extraordinary Banyan Tree at Kulow Nagty Hally, near Bhuoma Naik
Droog, in the territory of Mysore .. ..47
3.— Discovery of the Silhet Coal Mines... to.
4.— Questions proposed by the Burmese Heir Apparent .. ib.
VIII. — P rogre s s of Astronomical Science. 48
IX. — Meteorological Register. 56
No. 14.— FEBRUARY.
I.— Note on the Origin of the Kala-Chakra and Adi-Buddha Systems. By Mr.
Alexander Csoma de Koros ..57
II. — Journal of a March from Ava to Kendat, 'on the Khyendwen River, perform-
ed in 1831 , by D. Richardson, Esq. Assistant Surgeon of the Madras Esta-
blishment, under the orders of Major H. Burney, the Resident at Ava. . . 59
III.— Triaection of an Angle. By Lieut. Nasmyth Morrieson, W. S. . . 71
IV. — Short Description of the Mines of Precious Stones, in the District of Kyat-
pyen, in the Kingdom of Ava. . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
V. — Note on Saline Deposits in Hydrabad. By Assistant Surgeon J. Malcolm-
son, Madras European Regiment 77
VI. — An Experimental Inquiry into the Means employed by the Natives of
Bengal for making Ice. By T. A. Wise, Esq. M. D 80
VII. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society 91
VIII. — Systematically arranged Catalogue of the Mammalia and Birds belonging
to the Museum of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta. By Dr. W. Warlow. . . 96
IX. — European Notices of Indian Natural History.
1. — TheDugong 100
2. — Nipal Specimens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ioi
X. — Meteorological Table for February . . . . • . . . 104
Digiti
zed by G00gle
XVI CONTBNTS.
Page.
No. 15.— MARCH.
I. — On the Restoration of the Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. By Major
Colvin, Engineers 105
II. — Abstracts of Observations of the Temperature, Pressure, and Hygrometri-
cal State of the Air at Nasirabad. By Major T. Oliver 128
III. — Determination of the Constant of Expansion of the Standard 10-feet Iron
Bar of the great Trigonometrical Survey of India; and Expansions of Gold,
Silver, and Copper by the same Apparatus. By James Prinsep .130
IV. — Continuation of Dr. Gerard's Route with Lieut. Burncs, from Bokhara to
Meshid 143
V. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
WhewelFs Desiderata on the subject of Tides . . . . . . 151
VI. — Madras Literary Society. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
VII. — Miscellaneous.
1. — Indian Botany.. . .. .. .. .. .. .. ..156
2. — Indian Geology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
3. — Indian Arts and Manufactures. . . . . . . 158
4. — Note on Lieut. Burt's Instrument for trisecting Angles 159
VIII. — Meteorological Register for March. 160
No. 16.— APRIL.
I. — Account of the Jain Temples on Mount Abu in GuzerAt. By Lieut. Burnes,
Bombay Army .. ..161
II. — List of Indian Woods collected by N. Wallich, M. D., F. R. S., Correspond,
ing Member of the Royal Institute of France, and the Academy of Sciences
at Berlin, &c. and of the Society of Arts of London ; Superintendent of the
Botanic Garden at Calcutta . . 167
III. — Table for Ascertaining the Heights of Mountains from the boiling point of
Water. By James Prinsep, Sec., &c 194
IV.— Translation of a Tibetan Passport, dated A. D. 1688. By M. Alex. Csoma
de Koros. . . 201
V. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. . . . . . . 203
VI . — Miscellaneous.
1. — Indian Meteorology. .. : .. .. .. .. 206
2. — Indian Arts and Manufactures. .. .. .. .. .. 209
3. — Phenomenon of the Japanese Mirror. . . . . . . . . 214
VII. — Meteorological Register for April. .. .. .. .. ..216
No. 17.— MAY.
I.— Origin and Classification of the Military Tribes of Nipal. By B. H. Hodg-
son, Esq... .. .. .. .. .. .. ..217
II. — Description of Bokhara. By Lieut. A. Burnes, Bombay Army, Assistant
Resident at Kutch. . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
III.— On the Climate of Nagpur. By W. Geddes, Surgeon, Mad. Eur. Reg... 239
IV. — Table shewing the Rise of Spring Tides in Bombay Harbour, during night
and day, for the year 1832, communicated by Ben. Noton, Esq 247
V. — On the Native Manufacture of Turpentine. . . . . . . . . 248
VI. — Description of a Sun Dial in the Court of the Mod Masjid, in the Fort of
Agra. By Capt. J. T. Boileau, Engineers... .. .. .. 251
VII. — Catalogue of the most remarkable Celestial Objects visible in the Hori2on
of Calcutta, arranged in order of Right Ascension.. . . . . . . . 252
VIII. — Description of a Compensation Barometer, and Observations on Wet
Barometers. By J, Prinsep, Sec, &c... .. .. .. .. .. 25a
Digitized by
Google
CONTBNT8. ZVii
Page.
IX.— Proceeding of the Asiatic Soeiety. .. 262
2L— Miscellaneous.
1.— Rustic Bridge 307
9-— Remarks on the Paper on the Trisectlon of an Angle in No. 14. of the
"Journal of the Asiatic Society." 268
3.— New Patent Improved Piano-Forte. . . . . 269
4.— Specific Gravity of Metallic 'Alloys. .. ., .. .! 270
5. — Proportion of Recent and Fossil Shells. . . . . .. ib.
6.— Tabic of the Lengths in British Miles of the Degrees of Latitude and
Longitude from 0° to 30°, with the Areas bounded by them in Square
Miles... 27j
XI. — Meteorological Register for May. . . . . . , 272
No. 18.— JUNE.
L— On the Marriage Rites and Usages of the Jits of Bharatpur. By G. T.
Loshington, C. S. .. .. .. . 273 v/
II.— Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. By H. H. Voyaey, Esq. Surgeon and
(Geologist to the Great Trigonometrical Surrey of India, 1819. . . 398
III.— On the reputed Descendants of Alexander the Great, in the Valley of the
Oxus. By Iieut. Alexander Burnes, Bombay Army. .. .. .. 305 ^
IV.— On the " Topes" and Grecian Remains ia Panj6b. By Lieut Burnes, Bom-
bay Army. .. .. 308 ^
V. — Note on lieutenant Burnes* Collection of Ancient Coins. By James Prinsep,
Sec, fcc. .. .. .. ..310
VI. — Astronomical Observations at Hardly. By H. 8. Boulderson, Esq 318
VII.— Notice of a Native Sulphate of Alumina from the Aluminous Rocks of
NipaL By J. Stevenson, Superintendent H. C. Saltpetre Factories in Behar. 321
VIII.— Notice of a Native Sulphate of Iron from the Hffls of Behar, and used
by Native Dyers of Patna. By Ditto. ..821
IX.— Notice of Analysis of the Ashes of four Indian Plants. By Ditto. . . 322
X.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. .. 828
XI . — Miscellaneous.
Synopsis of the Winds, Weather, Currents, &c, between Bombay and Sues,
throughout the Year. By Capt. J. P. Sanders, Bombay. . . 328
XII.— Meteorological Register for June. ,.328
No. 19.-^ULY.
I.—TTm Birth of Uma— a Legend of Himalaya— by Calidasa. . . 329
II.— Description of the Pan-chaki or Native Water-mill. . . 369
III. — Description of the Salt Works at Panchpadder, Mewar. By Lieut. A.
Barnes, Bombay Army. . . 366
IV.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 367
V. Report of the Committee appointed on the 27th March, 1833, to consider on
the expediency of recommending to the Government the continuance of the
Boring Experiment. .. •• .. .. .. •• 369
VI.— Miscellaneous.
1. — Remarks on Hutton't Mathematics* .. •« .. .. 374
«-— The Royal Society. .. .. .. .. .. 376
3w— Discovery of a Bed of Fossil (Marine?) Shells on the Table Land of
Central India. .. .. •• •• •• •• 376
4«— Indian Zoology. .. .. •• •• •• •• 377
VII, Analy sis of Books.— Taylor's Astronomical Observation at Madras. . . 389
Digiti
zed by G00gle
J
ZV1U 4MNTBNT8.
Page.
VIII.— Meteorological Table kept at Baneoora, for the year 1832, by Joan Mac-
Ritchie, Esq. . . . . . . . . . . . . 383
IX.— Meteorological Register for July. . . • . . . . 384
No. 20.— AUGUST.
I.— Origin of the Sh&kya race, translated from the Qi (La), or the 26th, volume
of the mDo class in the K&-gyur t commencing on the 161st leaf. By M.
Alex. Csoma de K0r6s,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
II. — Second Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. By H. W. Voysey, Esq.
Surgeon and Geologist to the Trigonometrical Surrey of India, dated Secan-
derabad, the 28th June, 1820. .. .. .. .. .. 392
III. — Bactrlan and Indo-Scythic Coins— continued. By James Prinsep, F. R. S.
Sec As. Soc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
IV. — Note on the Zoology of the 2nd Part of the Transactions of the Physical
Class of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,.. .. .. ..417
V.— Note on the extraordinary Fall of the Barometer during the Gale of the 21st
May last. By James Prinsep, Sec. &c,. . .. .. 427
VI.— Climate of Singapur,.. .. .. .. .. .. 428
VII. — Culminating stars observed with the Moon at N&sirab&d. By Lieut -Col.
Thomas Oliver, &c., .. .. .. .. .. .. 432
VIII. — Chemical Analyses. By James Prinsep, Sec. &c., .. .. .. 434
IX.— Earthquake, .. .. .. .. .. .. ..438
X. — Meteorological Register, for August, . . . . . . . . . . 440
No. 21.— SEPTEMBER.
I. — An Inquiry into the Laws governing the two great powers, Attraction and Re-
pulsion, as operating on the Aggregation and Combination of Atoms. By
Julius Jeffreys, Esq. Bengal Medical Service, . . . . . . . . 441
II. — On Progressive Development in the cold-blooded Vertebrata. By D. W.
Nash, Asst. Surgeon, Beng. Est. A. L. S. Corresp. Member S. A.. . . . 465
III. — Some Geological remarks made in the country between Mirzapur and S£gar,
and from Sagar northwards to the Jamna. By the Rev. R. Everest, F. G.
S. &c 475
IV.— On the Notice of Alum or Salajit of Nipal. By A. Campbell, Assistant
Surgeon, &c.. . .. .. •• •• .. .. 48*
V. — Defence of Lt. Burt's Trisection Instrument, . . . . 485
VI. — Computation of the Area of the Kingdoms and Principalities of India, . . 488
VII. — Miscellaneous.
1. — Importation of Ice from Boston, .. .. .. ..491
2 f — On the Action of various Lights upon the Retina. By Sir D. Brewster,. . 494
3. — Substances contained in Opium, .. .. .. .. ..495
3.— Death of Captain J. D. Herbert, ft.
VIII.— Meteorological Register for August, 496
No. 22.— OCTOBER.
I. — A visit to the Gold Mine at Batting Moring, and Summit of Mount Ophir, or
11 Gunong Ledang," in the Malay Peninsula. By Lieut. J. T. Newbold,
23rd Regt. Mad. L. Inf. . . . . . . 497
II.— On the Nest of the Tailor Bird. By Lieut. T. Button, 37th Regt. N. I. . . 502
III. — An Inquiry into the Laws governing the two great powers, Attraction and
Repulsion, as operating in the Aggregation and Combination of Atoms. By
Julius Jeffreys, Esq. Bengal Med. Est. .. 506
Digiti
zed by G00gle
CONTENTS. X*X
Page,
IT.— I/tm ^pension Bridge .over the. Beosi River, near Sagar, Central India.
PI.XYi. ... .. .. .. .. .. .. 538
V.— Additional Note on the Climate of Nagpur. By J. Prinsep, Sec As.
Soe. &c, .. . . . .. .. .. .. .. 542
VI.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, ... .. 546
TIL— Analysis of Books, .. .. .. • .. 651
VIII.— Miscellaneous.
1.— Circular Instructions from the Geological Society, for the Collection of
Geological Specimens, . . . . 557
5.— Mirrors of Fnsible Alloy, . . . . . . . . . . 559
3. — Liverpool and Manchester Railway, . . . . ., ib.
IX.— Meteorological Register for September, .. .. .. ..660
No. 33.— NOVEMBER.
I* — On the Colossal Idols of Bamian. By Lieut. Alexander Barnes, Bombay
Army, .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 561
II.— Account of the Earthquake at Kathmandu. By A Campbell, Esq. Assistant
Surgeon, attached to the Residency, • . . . . . 664
III. — Census of the Population of the City and District of Murshedabad, taken
in 1829, .. .. .. .. .. 567
IV. — List of Birds collected in the Jungles of Borabhum and Dholbhum. By
Lieut. S. R. TickeU, 31st Regt. N. I., .. 669
V. — Note on the Fossil Bones discovered near Jabalpur. By J. Prinsep, Sec.
As. Soc. .. .. .. .. .. 583
VI. — Report on a Collection of Objects of Natural History. By the Curator of
the Museum of the Asiatic Society, . . . . . . 688
VII. — Note on the Genus Spiraculum. By J. T. Pearson, Curator As. Soc. . . 690
VIII. — On the Kukumb ka Tel, or concrete Oil of the Wild Mangosteen, . . . . 592
IX. — Note on the Coal discovered at Khyuk Phyu, in the Arracan District, . . 595
X. — Analysis of Books. — Transactions of the Batavian Society, . . . . 597
XI. — Miscellaneous.
1.— Register of the Temperature of Ghazipur. By the Rev. R. Everest, . . 604
2.— Note on the Salajit of Nipal, .. .. .. .. .. 605
3. — Summary Sketch of the Geology of India, . . . . . . 606
XII. — Meteorological Register for Nov. 1833, . . . . . . . . 608
No. 94.— DECEMBER.
I. — A short Account of the Charak PCya Ceremonies, and Description of the Im-
plements used. By Ram Comul S£n, Native Secretary, Asiatic Society. . . 609
II. — Specimens of some Ornamental Forms of Persian Writing. By Maha Raja*
Kill Kishen Behadur, of Calcutta, .. .. .. ..613
III. — Description of an Indian Balance, called Tula. By the same, . . . . 615
IV.— Abstract of a Meteorological Journal, kept at Kotgarh, (Lat. 31° 11' 45"
N. Long. 77* 27' 49" E.) Subathu, and the intermediate places in the Hima-
laya mountains for 1819-20. By Captain Patrick Gerard, 9th Regt. B. N. I. 615
V. — Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Formation, and on Fossil Bones col-
lected on the Jamna. By Captain E. Smith, Bengal Engineers, . . 622
VI.— Further particulars of the Earthquake in Nipal. By A. Campbell, Esq.
Assistant Surgeon, attached to the Residency, . . . . . . . . 636
VII.— Note on the Fossil Palms and Shells lately discovered on the Table-land of
Sagar in Central India. By H. H. Spry, Esq. Bengal Medical Service, . . 639
VIII.— Meteorological Register at Barelly in 1831. By H. S. Boulderson, Esq. 641
Digiti
zed by G00gle
XX CONTSNTI.
Page.
IX.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, .. .. .. \.. .. 645
X."— -Miscellaneous.
1.— Note on the Tailor Bird's Nest. By Lieut. Gifford. 648
a.— Note on the Inscription on the Hindu Coins. (Plate VIII. Fig. 15.) . . 649
3.— Radiation in Valleys. . . . . . . . . ib.
4.— Bones In the Delta Alluvium. .« .. .< .. ib.
5.— Fall of Fish from the Sky. . . . . . . . . . . 650
6.— Fossil Shells near Herat. .. .. .. .. 65a
7. — Cochineal. .. .. .. .. . . .. ib.
8. — Reply to the Questions of the Burmese Philosopher Prince, . • . . 65S
9.— Cave of Secanderiah, near Tabriz. .. .. .. 658
XI.— Meteorological Register for December, 1833* .. .. .. 660
Digiti
zed by G00gle
39
73—21
74 — 12
26
15* — Si
ERRATA.
Psgs 37 line 35 for* Col. Swiney, ' read ' Dp. Swiney/
57—23 for • Bu-stom,' read ' Bu-ston/
— 60 — 18 for * grain/ read * gram.'
70 — 29-30 for * in 17 hours 55 minutes/ read ' in the year 1755 /
71 — 23 for * (5.1)' read « (6.1)' J 7
28 for * (6. ax.)' mri « (ax. 6.1)'
99 /or ' 5.1' read ' (6.1).'
' 72 — 34 for * the circle,' read ' a circle.'
~ o/fer • G A' tater* • (Pig. 3.)'
for * and also touches.' read ' and A D also touches '
after 'ABC,' insert * (Pig. 4.)'
o/fer 'ABC,' taier/ ' (Fig. 5.)'
273—6 }/«*■ ' J. S. Lushington,' read * G. T. Lushington."
K8 for* BC,' read • BG.'
' for * BE i BC,» read • BE— * BC
* 15 for* to,' read 4 therefore.'
" — 24 /or ' others,' read « other.*;
29 /or ' further from,' read ' towards.'
■ — 169 — 2 /or ' valued/ read ' salient.'
' /or' J (ABI+18,)' read ' } (ABI+180*)/
— — 7 /or ' Cardwide/ read * cardioide/
2S ^"t? *■■• word FW'wahett, insert the following figures omitted by mistake i
«33*.2 466 381.2 362.2 356.8 384.8 365.8 452.2 381.2 YWiULtt
S?'« the mcan he % ht °* the Barometer at 4 p. it./or ' .545/ read « 513 »
306 hae 16 o/fer « Iskardo/ insert [Skardo, see mention of this place made by
M. Csoma de K5r5s in vol. i. p. 125.1' y
■ — 334 — io for « craigs/ read ' crags.'
*,* 6 «/fer ■ « Indus/ iaterf ' The date PIZ or 1 17 of the s-ra of the Seleu-
elds;, shews this to be a coin of Antiochus the Third • the
emblem of a ship was common to Tyre and Sidon, and other'sea
port towns.' [See Calmbt's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. iii 1
6 for « antiquity/ read ' antiquities.' ' ,J
1 *» after ' Abhim anta' inert ' comma.'
for * 92M74/ read * 9' 2", 174/
/or ' 118.7/ readr-* V 18" ,7' and for l V 8".4' read-' i'.8 v 4 •
*„ for 224.5/ read ' +2' 24" 5' and for « 42.7' read ' 4-0.42 7'*
— 354 note 15 /or 'scarcely or ever/ read 'seldom/ ^ ' 7 '
356 note— /or ^rnate 10 and 11 syllables/ read 'alternate 11 and 12
358 20 /or '„^» read 'j|$f/
390—27 after ' Karna/ inter* • (T. riiTMt^i), and dele the same word
in tne 29tn line.
— 392 — 7 /or « Qnof-hjog, 9 read • gnat-hjog.'
— • 418 — 18 /or ' stupenduous/ read ' stupendous/
438—24 /or « (vague) 11 &c/ read « 11 10 + 28 =5 11 38' by Mr. W
Ewer's Chronometer. 7 '
449—24, 32. for * olefint/ read • olefient/
26 /or « heat by/ read ' heat due to/
"7i * 55 T_ v^_/ pr ' op*™^*' read ' operated/
AJjo supply brackets to inclose the following paragraphs :
Banning with page 446, line 6, and ending page 448, line 28.
l«to ditto page 449, line 3, ditto ditto page 449, line 34.
— ■ 472 line 21 for ' lucertina/ read * laccrtina/
"—489 — 36 for* extent of coast,' read * extent of land frontier to the East.
North, and West of the British Possessions in India.' '
— ' 18 /or ' thus weighed, the/ read ' thus the/
' — 492 — 12 dele lifts.
• — 205 — 17 jor * lime and stone/ read ' limestone/
— - 263 — 7 for * Ludiya/ read l Sadiya/
— 309 — 36 after * building/ insert (See plate xix).
— 549 — last after * the fossil shell/ insert « (See plate xx)/
■ 314 —
> 315 —
• 316 — 17
• 319 — 5
9
10
Digiti
zed by G00gle
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER.
The sheets of Buchanan's Statistics are to he separated from the monthly
numbers, and (being now complete) to be bound as a separate volume*
The sheets of Appendix headed " Indian Monetary System" are also to be
separated, and reserved to form part of a future volume.
The Plates may either be bound up at the end of the volume, or placed
in the following order :
Plate I. Greek Coins, PL V. to face page 32
•II. Persian Coins, PL VI 4fr
III. Tibetan Text, 58
v IV. Dr. Richardson's Route from Ava to Kendat, 70
V. Trisection of an Angle, -«.~~ .., ... — ........ 78
[V. Sketch of Delhi Canals, to be cancelled.]
VI. Sketch of Delhi Canals, 105
VII. Expansion of Metals, 182
VIII. Compensation Barometer, 25a
IX. Turpentine Still, &c. 249
X. Rustic Bridge, 267
XI. Bactrian Coins, PL VII 318
XII. Delhi Water Mill, ~ 364
XIII. Geological Section through Hyderabad, ~~~~~~~~ 304
XIII. (bis) Section of the Calcutta Alluvium, ~~~....~~~~~ „ 370
XIV. Bactrian Coins, PL VIII 416
XV. Trisection Instrument, , ,,, .... 488
XVI. Iron Suspension Bridge, » — .„ ,„«^. 540
XVII. Geological Sections, _ ^ 557
XVIII. Mount Ophir, and Tailor Bird's Nest, 502
XIX. Colossal Idols of Bamian, 561
XX. Fossil Bone and Shell of Jabalpur, 583
XXI. Narsinhpur Fossil Bones, 588
XXII. Ornamental Persian Writing, „•__„_ 613
XXIII. Kankar Formation in Slabs, 624
XXIV. Sections of Jamna Banks, ~~~~ 627
XXV. Jamna Fossil Bones, 632
XXVI. Site of the Sagar Fossils, 640
Digitized by
Google
L/°
V
I
' ' ' .
JOURNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
JVo. 1. — January, 1833.
I. — Continuation of the Route of Lieutenant A. Burnes and Dr. Gerard,
from Pishdmar to Bokhara. tfft.T.
[TV same gentleman who fa roared us with the sketch of the route of these travellers
to Peshawar (vol. 1. 145) had prepared a continuation of his account, derived from
the private letters of Dr. Gerard, for insertion in the present number. While
printing it, however, we were, through the kindness of Captain A. Gerard, put in
possession of copies of bis brother's more recent letters to himself: we have availed
ourselves of both ; merely arranging the extracts in the order of the places visited ;
and we beg to offer our acknowledgments to both of our contributors for their
permission to give publicity to private correspondence, in the absence of any
direct communication to ourselves, relative to a journey which excites so much
interest— Ed.]
Thx travellers reached P&hawar about the 15th March, Kabul on
the 1st May, Khulm, on the 30th May, and Balkh, before the 10th of
June. They appear to have made twenty-six marches to the latter
place, and to have traversed a space of about five hundred miles. They
were induced to stop about 61 days at the principal cities on their way :
of which 34 were spent at Pgshawar, 17 at Kabul, and 10 at Khulm.
4 ' The trip from Peshawar to Kabul, was very harassing, and to me, ill of
fever, superlatively so. The country is naturally difficult, and our mer-
ciless guide drove us about regardless of heat and cold ; rain, and shelter.
Our stay in Kabul was too short to recover such an exertion, and I left that
place in the same state of health as I arrived. Dost Muhammed Khan's
treatment of us was highly satisfactory, and more than we durst have
relied upon, considering the position he occupies. We had none of the
assiduous attentions and caresses of his brother at P6shawar : his charac-
ter does not admit of familiarity, while his situation equally forbids it ;
but his civilities were of the first estimation. Kabul is rising into
Digiti
zed by G00gle
2 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Burnes [Jak.
power under his republican spirit of government, and I should say is destin-
ed to an importance in spite of itself, for in every view it is the key to
India, It is astonishing how much the country is relieved by the over-
throw of the royal dynasty ; and with respect to the latest reigns of the
Timur family, the change in the condition of things for the better is
not more wonderful than it is natural. In Shah Shujah's haughty career,
there was little security in all we most value, and robberies and bloodshed
disgraced the precincts of his court. Dost Muhammed's citizen -like demea-
nor and resolute simplicity have suited the people's understanding ; he has
tried the effect of a new system, and the experiment has succeeded.
My fellow traveller pursues a very good plan for any political object,
by keeping up correspondence with every one who has treated him with
civility ; particularly with our friends in Kabul and Peshawar. We may
soon have to ask Sultan Muhammed for a supply of coals to navigate the
Indus ; mines have been discovered ; and they ought to be worked upon
scientific principles. Moorcroft searched in vain for seams, but no doubt
the people took up the hint. The specimens which were brought to us
indicate the variety to be what is termed anthracite, or slate coal, and con-
sequently as fuel is very meagre ; but this may be the exterior crust or
shell, and when penetrated, a richer material may be discovered. We saw
it in thin plates, of a concave-convex form ; the fracture was grey, but with-
out any lustre, and it soiled paper ; at first I took it for graphite or plum-
bago, and I shall not be surprised if that mineral is contiguous. It burnt
by the flame of a candle, and gave out a dense gas. We should have sent a
specimen to Calcutta, had an opportunity offered. The mine is in the dis-
trict of Kohat, in the plain-ward hills, and therefore most conveniently si-
tuated at the navigable extremity of the Indus. I hear there are mines in
Cuch, which thus sets the question of physical capabilities at rest, and sup-
plies the only remaining desideratum. Sultan Muhammed Khan would be
delighted at the proposal of working the coal seams, for reciprocal ad- v
vantages must flow from such a medium. There are also sulphur seams in
Kohat; and adjacent, even conterminous with that estate, is the fertile
country of the Waziris, famed, I believe, for a superior breed of horses,
and report says, rich in indications of auriferous and other precious ores.
Moorcroft paid a visit to that district, and I suspect that he was aware of
its mineral deposits. The whole of Afghanistan teems with the germs
of metallic treasures, but it may be long ere we become better acquaint-
ed with those hidden stores. I was disappointed in not discovering any
traces of shells or fossils on the route to Kabul, but we durst scarcely
look around us. I was too ill besides, and our journey was too precipitate
for any useful purpose.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1835.] **d Dr. Gerard, /ram P&hdwar to Bokhara. 8
" We entered Kabul after a fatiguing journey at four o'clock, having
been 24 hours from the last encampment, and with the exception of a
short slumber our guide unwillingly allowed us at midnight, and my
doze upon the raisin bags of a small grocer's dukan by the road side,
where my horse made his repast while I reposed, I may say, I was in
a high state of corporal suffering during that long period, with a fever
raging in my blood, and a fiery heat in my face, which has latterly burn-
ed to parchment. I need not describe Kabul to you, who have travelled
over the same ground, and I should certainly fail in my attempts, having
teen but little of the place. One is not disappointed in the display, after
the uniformly arid aspect of the surrounding country ; but it is in this
contrast, rather than in any peculiar scenery, that we are delighted with
the spot. Frail mud houses, which seem only to be renewed by the
accessions of patch- work, form a penurious threshold to a great entre-
pot of commerce ; but when the bazar opens, one is amply gratified by
a scene, which for luxury and real comfort, activity of business,
variety of objects, and foreign physiognomy, has no living model in
India. The fruits which we had seen out of season at Peshawar loaded
every shop; the masses of snow for sale, threw out refreshing chill, and
sparkled by the sun's heat : the many strange faces and strange figures,
each speaking in the dialect of his nation, made up a confusion more
confounded than that of any Babel, but with this difference, that here
the mass of human beings were intelligible to each other, and the work
of communication and commerce went on. The covered part of the
bazar, which is entered by lofty portals, dazzled my sight, even quite
as much as the snow of the Himalayan peaks, when reflected against
the setting sun. In these stately corridors, the shops rise in benches
above each other, the various articles with their buyers and sellers, regu-
larly arranged in tiers, represent so many living strata. The effect of
the whole was highly imposing, and I feel at a loss adequately to
describe the scene presented to our eyes.
" Our stay at Kabul furnished few objects of interest ; the time passed
rapidly, and'' my own ill health prevented me making any exer-
tion. We were Nawab Jabar Khan's guests, and though our quar-
ters occupied one side of a square which was a rendezvous for courtiers,
we were infinitely more at liberty than at Peshawar, and even quiet
till we were roused up by Mr. Wolff, who amused us greatly by his various
adventures. As long as he staid at Kabul, we were in a perpetual stir ;
the house was filled with Jews.
" The climate of Kabul was considerably colder than I was prepared
for, when the barometer announced an elevation of 6000 feet. The
b 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. Burnet [Jam:
morning temperature varied between 43° and 47°, and 66 degrees was
commonly the maximum of the day ; while, in the house, 61* and
63° were the extremes ; and this temperature was during the first
half of the month of May* This state of the atmosphere is far
below that of Simla, but as there are no periodical rains, the sum-
mer heat increases till August ; and, notwithstanding that, Baber
talks of sleeping throughout the year with ipustU: in the dogdays,
the air is warm enough to make the tops of the houses a comfortable
place of rest. Kabul, like Kan&war, is indebted for its fine climate
and luxuriant gardens to the aridity of its atmosphere, and to irri-
gation. The snowy range, that lies on the north-west, contains within
its ramifications many thousand orchards, from which all the dried
fruits that fill the bazars of India are supplied. The majestic rhubarb
grows there wild, and its succulent stem is one of the luxuries of every
house ; it has a grateful acidity. Fresh snow fell frequently upon the
neighbouring mountains, but none of the peaks appeared to attain a
greater height than 16,000 feet. The summits of the true Hindu
Kush were visible on the north, like heaps of pure snow. Macartney is
outatleast 20 miles in his latitude of Kabul, which is too low. Rennel's
position of it, and also of Kashmir and Kandahar, will be found most
correct. Burnes took the elevation of the pole, and it is close
upon 34£°. The barometer showed a little above 24 inches, and water
boiled at 202°. I need not mention our treatment by Jabar Khan,
whose character is so well known. Common words would not express
the friendly attentions he heaped upon us. He is much too good a
man to be connected with the family : his whole pride of distinction is
in charitable actions, and a modest, but confident demeanour of person.
Of his brother, Dost Muhammed Khan, we have every reason to speak
with the greatest respect and satisfaction. He is diminutive in stature,
with a common face, which you would pass a dozen times without re-
mark, and fail to distinguish in a mob. He has no state; a single atten-
dant follows him, who is generally the best dressed of the two, and a
stranger, fresh from an European or Indian court, would mistake one for
the other. His habits correspond with his appearance, and every
thing about him partakes of the simplicity of character that raises
him above the multitude. It is in conversation, when his countenance
becomes brightened with intense animation, that the mind of the chief
developes itself, and evinces his intellectual power with the happiest
effect.
" The Russian Church is held in high estimation at Kabul, and the
Kabulis meet with much attention from the subjects of the Autocrat,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] mmd Dr. Gerard, from Phkdwer to Bokhdru. *
while they atfe scarcely noticed beyond the Satlej ; these opposite re-
ceptions of course leave strong impressions on the feelings of individuals.
" Dost Mohammed gave us six introductory letters (one to the king
of Bokhara) ; and on the 18th of May, we took leave of Kabul, under
the protecting guarantee of a Nazir, a man of high connexions and repute,
who however proved himself anything but agreeable. The opportunity
was too favourable to require consideration, the man's character was
to be our passport, and as we anticipated difficulties in Morad Beg's
territory, we thought ourselves fortunate ; although we afterwards re-
pented. — Our ill-favored guide was proceeding to Russia, to recover the
prup ei ty of his brother, who died there. On this occasion, Dost Muham-
med Khan wrote a letter to the Emperor ! !"
" Hie passage of the Hindu Kdsh presents no difficulties, and viewed
in any way, shrinks to insignificance, compared with those portions of
the snowy chain which you and I have seen. Even as a barrier to an
invading army the difficulties are far from formidable by this route.
The great pass, which is alone named Hindu Kdsh, is even more acces-
sible, though more lofty ; we would have taken that route, but for the
dread of encountering Morad Beg. The pass is worth seeing, especially
as we heard some strange stories about flights of birds being so much
baffled by the strong wind, that they no longer could fly against it, and
actually took to walking for a change, when vast numbers were killed
by die natives. The emperor Baber mentions the same thing, and the
fact would seem to argue great elevation. The Hindu Kdsh has no longer
the configuration of the Himalaya ; the steep cliffs of hard compact rock,
which characterise that ridge, scarce appear here at all, and few of the
peaks attain any remarkable altitude. The most prominent point was
Kohi Baba, and I do not believe it rises to 19,000 feet : all the neigh-
bouring heights appeared in bluff masses, resembling the contour of the
mountains upon the Chinese frontier and the interior of Kanawar, which
is evidently the effect of a different structure ; and as fin: as I could
judge from the nature of the road, wherever the bare rock was ex-
posed, the elements of the whole range are of the class of formations
termed secondary ; and as we penetrated into the country, the hills
changed into slate, gravel, and even mud, which last mixed with loam
and calcareous rubble, all indurated by alternations of weather into a
rugged hardness, compose the formation of the Bamean " Bdts," or idols,
which most people believe, and the natives themselves represent, to be
cut out of the solid rock. But to return to the Hindu Kdsh :— we rode
up to the pass, which Is scarcely 11,000 feet in height; the snow lay
deep upon the summit, but was fast retiring before the ardent sun, and
Digiti
zed by G00gle
6 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Burncs [Jan.
the slopes were only speckled at that limit. The descent was quaggy
and tedious, hut there was not much of it, and villages appeared at a
general level of 10,500 feet. The second pass was nearly 1 2,000 feet, the
adjoining villages hampered by the snow projected their grey turrets
through the uniform field of whiteness. The third pass was inaccessible
by horses*, and we descended by the hollow of a gorge into a dell that
drained off the waters towards Kunduz and the Oxus. When I be-
held the opposite course of the streams, I began to ask, is this the only
range that separates Khorasan from Turkistan, and the valley of the
Oxus ; and when soon after I found our level to be close upon 5000
feet, I conceived that other and loftier ridges crossed our route ; but a
few more days, and the 13th from Kabul, brought us upon the plains of
Tartary, for that name is specifically apposite in the region of Asia, ad-
joining Bokhara and Samarkhand. My understanding was now enlight-
ened, for I had but vague and ill-defined ideas of the geographical
nature of this tract, but in one respect I was not wrong — I never oelieved
there could be any flat expanse, similar to the plains of India : and the
fact is so, and could not have been otherwise ; and long after we had
entered the open country, and crossed the Oxus, a range of snowy
mountains on our right-hand (our face being then towards Bokhara),
confirmed my conjectures. We were both much surprised at such a
eight, particularly as it was of so transitory a nature as nearly to elude
our comprehension : it was almost sunset, and the outline, just lighted
up, gleamed for a few minutes, and faded into a dim mass. The spec-
tacle was full of grandeur, and left us wondering ; for we never saw
another trace of the range, or its desolate snows.
" The map gives us very imperfect notions, I should say none at all, on
the subject ; for the mountains, marked there as snowy, could not have
been in sight, and those that seem to indicate their position, are not
only black, but occupy a very limited space. Now, heights bearing
perennial snow, and far exceeding that marginal boundary, do not
often start up abruptly in patches or isolated ridges from a flat ex-
panse of plain ; as the routes to Yarkund cross them free of snow at this
season of the year, they may not be so elevated as they appear. When
thus in the open plains of Turkistan, the thought (which had often
amused us) recurred, is the Hindu Kush the true limit of the great
snowy chain that forms the northern frontier of British India ? As to the
appearance on the map, the illustration is correct, as far as it goes ; but
we naturally, and upon cosmogonic grounds, ask, — where is the Himalayan
ridge ? and where should it go to, but north. It (unfortunately for
♦ I should rather think my brother means inaccessible on horseback, A. G.
Digitized by
Google
1833] and Dr. Gerard, from Phhdvfar to Bokhdra. 7
geography) is unknown by that name, and amidst the confusion of such
unmeaning designations as Hindu Kush, Caucasus, Sufed Koh (White
Mountain), as if snowy mountains should be any other color : to be sure,
we have heard of red, to which the map adds blue mountains, white moun-
tains, cloudy mountains, and black mountains (see the map in the octavo
edition of Elphinstone's Kabul) ; besides Taghs and Tukhts, innumera-
ble ; and lastly, Parapamisus, which is a fine sounding name, but it
unfortunately happens not to exist ; there are also Kara or black moun-
tains, which are also salt. Is not all this too bad ? — In seeking for the
continuity of the Himalaya, we must go north of Ladak, and the sources
of the Oxus, where a vast tract of lofty summits will be found to trend
towards the skirts of Yarkund, and somewhere near the heads of the
Oxus and Jaxartes, to define the slope of the country to the north-
west; this will bring the high plateaux, north of the Indus, within
more precise limits. All this tract, which is by no means very remote,
is still unseen by the eye of civilised man.
" The Buts of Bamean represent a man and woman of colossal mag-
nitude, carved in the cliff of the ridge that bounds the valley on the
east On approaching them, I saw from the very look of the hills, that
they could only be moulded in some soft calcareous substance ; yet a
very intelligent man, aHaji Baba, who was with Moorcroft at the spot,
ntsisted that the figures were in the solid rock, which would indeed
have been an anomaly, as the whole of the neighbouring hills and the
dell itself is a diluvial, perhaps an alluvial, deposit of mud, clay, and
conglomerate. I was certain in my opinion, and took a bet of 100 groats
to one, with the old Haji, that they were mud, and so they proved
to be. A piece of a toe, or part of the nose of one, will decide their
structure : it is not gypsum. Though it is rather a disappointment to find
mud instead of granite, still these idols are very curious objects, both
with regard to antiquity, and as memorials of an epoch, the history of
which eludes our research. The written accounts, if they are not
▼itiated by mythological figures, assign their formation (creation) to
the year 56 before the Christian era, which is far from extravagant,
considering the nature of the records (Mahabharat), which give that
date ; but without attending to these, it is almost certain, that they existed
before the time of Muhammed, and when the country was possessed by
the kafirs under the dominion of Zohak, whose reign was antecedent to
Christianity. — These august idols were mutilated both by Timur the
Great and by Nadir Shah : the former discharged arrows, and the latter
fired shots at them. Some faint traditions of Alexander the Great are
in the mouths of some of the inhabitants ; but there are so many Sikan-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
8 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Burnet [Jaw.
dan that it is almost impossible to extricate the right one. We saw.
nothing like Greek inscriptions, bnt heard of many near ns. A ques-
tion readily occurs — is the material of which the idols are con-
structed calculated to resist the impression of hundreds of years, not
to think of a period approaching to thousands ? Had I not myself
been fully aware of the preservative nature of the climate in the Trans*
Himalayan regions, and seen antiquity represented in mud walls, books
and other works, which we consider perishable, I should have been
staggered at the idea of the Bamean idols' claim to so remote an origin.
The aridity of the atmosphere here is pretty similar to that of upper
Kanawar and Tibet, where a thing neither rots or decomposes, bat mils to
dust in long ages ; and the substance of the figures is of that kind which
becomes indurated by exposure to the air, and like the mud upon the
roofs of the houses, acquires the hardness of the surrounding kankar*
Near this we passed* a ruined fort, said to have been built in the days of
Zohak ; the slender walls of unburn t brick were perched upon cliffe, which
time had rendered inaccessible. Close to the Bute are the remains of
a mud castle, about which some curious traditions are related ; but I
omit them, lest you might think me as credulous as the people who re-
lated them.
Without thinking of the idols, over which superstition and un-
determined antiquity have bestowed a false character, there never
was a spot better appropriated for fabling the extravagancies of na-
ture, or raising ideas of bhuts and spectres. As to the kafira,
their domiciles yet remain : desolation is not the word for this place,
the surface of the hills is actually dead ; no vegetable trace is to be
seen, all is parched up, and as it were baked white, and scoriated
by the sun's rays ; such is the horrid aspect of this part of the country,
to which the caves of the kafirs have added a savage impression.
These are still inhabited, but their first possessors have long since dis-
appeared ; the sides of the mountains are full of excavations, presenting
to the approaching traveller some thing like a honey comb ; whole
families occupy these recesses, living in smoke and darkness, of which
they seem to form a part, in their black figures. — One of the idols is
actually tenanted, and high upon the acclivity are seen isolated nitches
and black heads peeping forth. At night, the moving lights and yelk of
unseen people have a singularly wild effect, and one dwells in the con-
templation of the scene, till it actually appears one of an infernal kind,
fit only for such companions as bhuts and demons. Barnes toot
sketches of the whole.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1633.] «mT Dr. Gerard, front P&kdttor to Bokkdr*. $
u A Persian of our party, who bad been at Moscow, bad draw-
ings of the idols, which he affirmed were an object of enquiry in that
country, and that he bad made them at the request of the Russians ; and
when they send to Bokhara for coins and other antiquities, there is
nothing surprising in their extending research to Bamean. The figures
appear to my eyes more like designs of Budha than any other ; their
physiognomy at least resembles that of images I have seen in Kanawar
and Tibet. They are mentioned in several old books, and it is strange
that any mystery should prevail about the age or events of which
they are symbolical. We can however now assign them their true site
and position in Hindu Kush, which were to us even at Kabul ex-
tremely vague, and to people in India, utterly incomprehensible.
Bamean has its site upon the northern declivity of Hindu Krish,
and within its lofty ramifications, in a dell or valley, which throws
its waters into a tributary of the Oxus, that passes through Kimdtiz.
The map places it south of the snowy ridge. — It forms the extremity of
the Kabul dominions, and is elevated a little above 8000 feet. The
climate was rude and disagreeably cold on the 20th of May, and the
grain crops were only sowing. An idea has prevailed that Bamean is
a pass in the Hindu Kush, or in a more southernly ridge ; but it is
quite across the chain, although environed by snowy heights. On the
north, at the head of the dell, the mountains are depressed to a hollow,
or pass between 10,000 and 11,000 feet, and beyond that the country
subsides in undulations to the Oxus.
Hitherto we had adopted no particular precautions to maintain our
disguise, except evading the gaze of people, passing either unobserved,
or as Armenians ; but on entering Morad Beg's territory, we rolled our
heads within our turbans, and this saved our faces from the scorching
sunshine.
At Dwap or Doab, where Mr. Wolff was robbed, we apprehended
danger, and provided an escort from a neighbouring brigand chief. In
the hollow of a pass, we met a kafila of very fine horses : they were all
safe, and quite unaware of their escape, as afterwards appeared. We
had no idea of any alarm, but as we were descending the slope
of tiie pass, a body of robbers appeared — they had lost their aim
in the horses, and were now coming up to a couple of camels, the last
remains of the kafila. — I was behind, as usual, and although
I saw, I could not understand the manoeuvres of our party, and kept
lingering on till met by one of our servants, sent back to bid me
gallop my horse. The robbers were very fair and candid, as I thought,
suspecting who we were ; they sent one of their party to communicate
Digiti
zed by G00gle
10 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Burne* [Jaw.
with us, who on our side was met by a young lad, the leader of our
escort, and son of a neighbouring chief, who in his turn becomes free-
booter, and to these mutual interests in plunder, and partly to our force,
we owed our escape. They immediately declared themselves, and
their disappointment in the horse kafila, intimating with a good deal of
honesty, that they ought to have had a recompense in us. Notwith-
standing this result, our kafila-bashi was very assiduous in his exertions
to send the baggage mules and foot-travellers out of the way. The fate
of the camels and their drivers was inevitable, the latter seemed to have
lost all resolution, and between fear and hope they shrieked and stood still.
.We were looking up from a dell, and eagerly watched for their escape ;
but had to witness both them and the camels carried off, the former to
be sold in the public markets of Bokhara. It is this ultimate object
that makes the predatory work so odious and terrific. Highway-rob-
bery, like slave trade, when pursued systematically, loses many of its
horrors, and much of its criminality, (not that I am at all countenancing
either.) In fact, whenever acts become a custom of a country, self-interest
deprives them of violence, and people club together for the sake of con-
federate advantages, frame laws of honor, and pursue their profession
upon principle, and the state itself shares in the benefits of system ; kasids,
or letter-carriers are held sacred, the property of individuals is spared,
and life is rarely lost. Many of the chieftains, such as Morad Beg, have
a personal interest both in plundering kafilas, and in making slaves, and
take turn month about with their feudatory vassals. Our friends, the
robbers, kept within our sight, moving slowly along the top of a ridge,
and occasionally reminding us of our good fortune. We were now
fast descending towards the basin of the Oxus, though the country
continued rugged, and now and then betrayed its altitude in hoary peaks.
At last a mild wind from the north, and a haze in the horizon, announ-
ced our proximity to the plains of Tartary. The few latter marches
were rather irksome, on account of the disguise we thought it prudent to
adopt : the instant we reached our ground we were covered over with a
heap of clothes. One morning, we found ourselves in juxtaposition to
the chief of the place, a man of disrepute and a deputy of Morad Beg's :
he came to dine with our kafila-bashi. We were lying amongst the
long grass, and stole away a few yards, where we reposed with confident
security, and listened to his conversation. Here we had troubles of a
different kind, scorpions which stung our servants, and a little farther on,
snakes ; the heat too was already considerable, although our elevation
was about the level of Subathu (4200 feet), and our latitude above 36* ;
but we were refreshed with a little rain. However uncomfortable such
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] and Dr. Gerard, from Phhdwar to Bokhdra. 1 1
things may appear in a letter, in reality there was much amusement,
and our most serious misfortunes (apprehensions I should say) excited
an interest that was far from disagreeable ; even Morad Beg himself
appeared to me a plausible enough sort of a savage. At midnight, on the
29thofMay f ourkafila-bashfwarnedustobeoff:we scrambled awkwardly
through a marsh, and the day broke while we were yet in the deep hollow
of a torrent ; we hoped still to reach Khulm (which was to terminate all
oar doubts of safety) before the bazars were crowded, and finally, soon
after sunrise we emerged upon the plains of Turkistan ; the pass through
the mountains was between mural precipices of tremendous grandeur ;
and I was so much struck with the solitude of the spot, that I conceived
we might evade observation in some of the recesses of the cliffe, and
escape the sun's rays at the same time, and resume our journey at night-
fall towards Balkh. On opening upon the new world, the first objects, as
usual, were mountains, at the base of which rolled the Oxus ; the river
itself was not in the sight, but a regularly defined haze indicated its
course, a phenomenon I had before remarked in the Satlej, and we
ourselves had observed in the Indus, which arises from the difference of
temperature between the stream and superincumbent stratum of air. We
regaled our eyes with the regions of " Trans-oxiana." The respectability
of our party saved us any trouble at the custom-house. We were not
searched, and pushed through the streets, staring every one in the face.
We entered a caravanserai full of people, and lodged ourselves amongst tea
merchants, and traders in Russian furs, and people of all nations and de-
scriptions, as if nothing had happened ; and I am not now going to waste
time on the subject. Suffice it, that we found ourselves in the safe cus-
tody of Morad Beg, and after ten days rather anxious suspense, escaped
from all apprehensions, and departed under his aid and protection !! How
we extricated ourselves from a scene which was at one time tragic, at
another comic ; contortion, trickery, and sordid interest on the part of the
Nazir, to make the most of us; fear and folly on that of others ; self*
confidence and friendship in a few ; wonder, expectation, and the most
stapid credulity in Morad Beg himself, and altogether a drama in which
the chief actors struggled for the loaves and fishes in our pockets ; poor
Morad Beg got nothing by his Oozbek simplicity, while we who sus-
tained the whole scene were never thought of, except it was to produce
more money. My pfrt in the play was rather that of a spectator than
of a performer, and might appear easy ; but I had taken an early
interest in the swamps of Kunduz and arid sands of Talikan, (as you
will recollect,) the scenes of poor Moorcroft's misfortunes, and Morad
Beg himself became in my eyes an object of attraction, by his savage
c 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
12 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Burnet [Jaw.
conduct on that occasion; and however strange it may appear toothers,
as I fancy it did to Barnes, our situation at Khulm only struck me in the
light of an opportunity I should have of realizing former prospects, and
the idea of meeting the chief of Kunduz, either as a tyrant or a friend,
was by far from the least cherished of my adventures ; but I was doomed
to disappointment, and for some reason or other, my sunburnt face,
silvery beard (which is now black enough), and ignorance of Persian,
(though TurkS is the spoken language in Kunduz,) were supposed by
the catchers of the loaves and fishes to be unfavorable to our disguise ;
consequently I was left behind, and Burnes alone paid Morad Beg a visit
at his country seat. We had been summoned to his presence to give an
account of ourselves, and to remove the suspicions which rumor had
attached to our character. Neither Burnes nor I anticipated any per-
sonal danger, but the chance of restraint, or at least incalculable
delay, and the certainty of a pecuniary sacrifice, or absolute depri-
vation of all our resources, had sufficient alarms to make both of us anxi-
ous for the result. Bad as the repute of Morad Beg was, and too surely
deserved, by his treatment of Moorcroft, I could not resist the idea that
we should find him better than he was described ; and though poverty
and power together might plead an excuse for robbing us of our money,
sordidness itself could not wholly destroy the common sympathies of our
nature, and make him stare forth the naked savage. The self-will of an
arbitrary tyrant, enjoying a penurious chiefship, might induce him to
an act of extreme rigor; but self-interest would scarcely allow him to
trespass the bounds of discretion, and insulate himself from the feelings
of all around him. Burnes successfully appeared before Mor&d Beg, as
an Armenian watch-maker from Lucknow, and it turned out, that the
blackest person of our party would have answered equally well ; with
the above simple reply, the despot of Kunduz and king of terrors
was satisfied. Could this be, amidst the game that was playing, the
gold that was shining through us, promised bribes and open trickery ?
besides, Morad B6g had heard of us at Peshawar and Kabul approaching
with ^ve lak'hs of rupees, and the custom-house officers were looking
out for us ; yet all this and much more happened, and if there was no
delusion, confirms the character of the Oozbeks as given by Elphin-
stone, for unsuspecting candor and the most stupid credulity. Burnes
passed a pleasant-enough time at Mor&d Beg's country-seat, drinking tea
ail day, and eating the leaves, according to custom, after the manner of
the ancients ; and having been presented by an honorary investiture of
some new clothes, he returned to Khulm, a distance of 70 miles, without
dismounting, much better dressed than when he left it.— Moorcroft, at
Digitized by
Google
1833.] <md Dr. Gerard, from P&hdwar to Bokhdrn. ft
the very same place, in his flight from Morad Beg, and for the safety
of his life, made his remarkable journey to Talikan upon a single
horse, with grain in his saddle bags ; the distance, as then stated in the
Government Gazette, 130 miles, seems to be excessive. Previous to this
final result of Morad Beg's curiosity, we thought of escaping to Mazar ; but
we were watched, and this would have been a feat of senseless heroism*
at we were liable to certain danger on the road from robbers. Morad
Beg's courtesy and attentions to us as Armenians, in ordering an escort
of 50 horsemen to see us beyond his frontier, did not allay our apprehen-
sionsfor our liberty ; and as the scheme, as well as ourselves, were noto-
rious throughout the caravanserai, we made every haste, and next morn-
ing's dawn saw us on the way to Balkh. Our own people, scarce
aware of our plans, had provided us but meagrely, for a ride of 30 miles
under a burning sun, and 1 had neither clothes nor any thing else. We
were now literally flying from ourselves, and the protection of a man
whose very name we dreaded, and whose treatment of us is veiled in an
obscurity, that leaves it doubtful, whether we at this present moment
stand towards him in the relation of friends or enemies. Subsequent
travellers may remove the uncertainty, which is of more consequence
than appears to the eye, but in this respect our experience can prove to
them no guide.
The journey to Mazar was rather trying, over a bare, baked soil,
without shade or water; the temperature of the air was 100°, and that of
the son's rays much greater : my face at least was completely burnt. Our
escort left us at what appeared the most dreary point of the road, and
it was actually the most dangerous ; our horses were wearied, and that
which I rode stood still in a place where our kafila-bashf said it was
imprudent even to look around us. We entered Mazar unknown and
unsuspected, and it was perhaps fortunate, as the people are intolerant
bigots and disreputable in every way. Piles of snow, and the most
delicious apricots were in abundance. It was here that Moorcroft's
property was seized and plundered : we felt extremely anxious to ascer-
tain if any papers or memorials still remained, and the fate of his books,
which we heard were in the possession of the chief; but prudence con*
drained us to pass over the scene in silence.
We had here a contention with our guide, who enacted a scene on
the occasion, partaking at once of the pathetic and the furious. —
Barnes was fortunately on horseback, and had the whip hand in
***« of necessity — I mean, the advantage of escaping from an
irritated Mohammedan, who had only to proclaim us infidels and
ftrferi of the prophet, and there would have been tragedy indeed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
M Continuation of the Route of Lieut. Burnes [Jan.
Thus terminated our intimacy and connexion with the man, to whose
care and protection we had been consigned, by the brother of Dost
Muhammed Khan, for our safety to Bokhara; we never spoke again*
The Syud, Mr. Conolly's friend, whom we met at Peshawar, and whose
grateful feelings for the attention and liberality of the Governor General
had interested him in our journey, to the extent of promising to protect
and conduct us to Bokhara, we left at Kabul, ill, and otherwise too much
engaged in his own affairs, to assist us in any way. Thus deprived of
the dependence we had in these people, and without any introductory
letter to the king of Bokhara, (the Nazir having lost or wilfully de-
stroyed it,) we had to make the best of our way unassisted.
On the road to Balkh, we turned aside to see poor Trebeck's grave.
Muhammedan bigotry had yielded so far, as to permit his remains to be
deposited within an enclosure or garden : a mulberry tree sheds its fruit
over the spot. We had heard this young man spoken of every where
with the highest eulogies, and it was a satisfaction to us to have viBited
his lone sepulchre. We wished to leave some record of the spot, but
although it is possible to get a slab-stone here for his and Moorcroft's
graves, it is doubtful how such a memorial would be respected, unless
we ourselves had witnessed its erection.
On entering Balkh, we were met by two custom-house officers, jolly
fellows, and one of them a Turkoman ; but from the nature of their
employment, rather boisterous and abrupt : they stopped our horses,
bade us dismount, and said we must be searched. A little surprised, we
kept our seats, and assured them we were not merchants. " We must
see what is in those saddle bags," said they. Burnes then dismounted,
and the Turkoman began an examination of his person, passing his
hand over his watch — what have we got here ? Ah " Saat," that is a
useful article to travellers — very well, have you got nothing else, no tillas
(gold coin), and before Burnes could reply, he with much good humour
said, Come, come, you know as well as I do, that people cannot travel
without money ; now, how many have you ? Twenty, said Burnes, offering
to untie them from his waist. Don't trouble yourself; there is no occasion,
Your word is everything, I am satisfied; and pointing to me, (I had not
dismounted, and was thinking what to say,) what has your companion ? —
the same. Thank you, replied the Turkoman, you are gentlemen. I wish
every one was as ready in their answers, they would save themselves
And me much unnecessary and awkward trouble. Your names, said
he. Sikandar Armeni and Gerard (with the French pronunciation) . The
tax upon our money was a tenth. Hindus pay a twentieth; and Muham-
medans, a fortieth. We had no tillas except those tied about us ; but
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] *nd Dr. Gerard, from PMiiwar to Bokhara. 15
the Turkoman said, Make yourselves easy, I'll call upon you at the
caravanserai. Such civil treatment, in such a country and by monstrous
Turkomans, deserves to be mentioned."
" We were now in the most ancient and renowned city in the world,
and when we looked at the ruin and recalled to mind, the dynasty of
Bactria, and in later ages the thrones of Jenghiz and Tymur, with the
neighbouring scenes of Bokhara and Samarkhand, the present and the
past, it gave us a lively idea of the countless revolutions which had
rolled away. There was nothing here by which we could recognise
these memorable epochs, and judging from the aspect of the few inha-
bitants left, the spot seemed more suited to the dead, than as a place of
abode for the living. The ruins, which are mostly of mud, are very ex-
tensive; but they only mark the modern site of the city. The insalubrity
of Balkh is proverbial, and this calamity may be traced to the very
effects of its former greatness. The eighteen beautiful aqueducts, by
which it was irrigated, no longer guided by the art of the husbandman,
have spread their waters over the face of the country, and transformed
its fair landscape into a stagnant marsh. Here the Nazir had another
opportunity of resuming his tricks : in our difficulties with Morad Beg,
we had intrusted him with our passports ; and forgot them at Mazar.
He now pretended to have lost them, and we were preparing to visit
him vi et armis, when the intercessions of our Hajee restored them with-
out more acting. From Balkh to the Oxus is almost a desert ; camps
of Turkomans occur in some places, and the sand hills are well clothed
with bushes. The high road was considered unsafe, and we followed
the downward course of the valley. At one spot only we required an
escort of Turkomans, who are themselves the robbers, but find it more
advantageous to compromise their habits by an easily earned recompense.
They were the first of the race we had seen, and their peculiarities
struck us with surprise and interest. Their features, their dress, address
and gay agility upon horseback, were all favorable ; and, in fact every
thing about them, but their modes of life and predatory customs, were
respectable. On the 15th of June after travelling twelve hours, the day
dawned upon the shores of the Oxus, and at nine o'clock, we were encamped
upon its margin ; a point that had so long been in prospect, and glim-
mered through so many vague and ill defined ideas of difficulty and peril,
was now at our feet, and we were not satisfied till our feet were actually
in its cool waters; and here we sat, slept, and passed three entire
days, with more ease than we dare expect upon the banks of the
Ganges, for here we had neither alligators nor enemies of any kind
to dread.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 6 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. Bume$ [3 AM*
The Oxus is a splendid river, here exhibiting an expanse and volume
fully equal to our expectations, or its appearance as given in the map;
but I should say of inferior magnitude compared with the vast extent
of country of which it is the drain, and where deserts and arid moun-
tains occupy so large a portion. The Hindu Kush generates but a
scanty tribute from its snow, and but few supplies are derived from the
north ; the great body of the water coming from the south-east and
east, where the intersections of the Himalaya define the course of the
streams to the Indus, and branching northward, give origin to the
rivers which wash the Chinese frontier of Yarkiind and Kashghar, the
whole of which tract from the limit of Kundur in one direction, and
Bokhara itself in another, is a blank in geography. It is true the
sources of the Oxus are pretty well ascertained, and the travels of Meer
Izzat Oolla have sketched the configurations of the country north-west
of Ladak ; but the height, extent, and nature of the mountains which
intervene between Leh and Yarkiind, and along the north-west branches
of the Indus and Hindu Kush, are wholly unknown.
The stream of the Oxus is muddy, like that of our Indian rivers ; but
confined within marginal banks bearing a stiff vegetation, it has a more
regular channel, and rolls with greater rapidity ; where we crossed it, the
expanse of bed was divided by islands, and the current assumed various
degrees of size and velocity, the largest with a rate exceeding three miles
per hour and a depth of 20 feet. As no rain falls in this country, the
whole mass of water is liquified snow. It is impossible to form a com-
parative estimate of the actual bulk, but it can scarcely equal the Indus
at Attok. The ferries are ill supplied with boats, but the boats themselves
are substantial fabrics, and are built more after the model of our sloops
than any thing I have seen in India ; but the people have no idea of na-
vigation ; their oars are of the rudest kind, only one or two in a boat,
but the chief impulse depends upon horses, which are fastened on each
side of the bow, and, by their exertions to swim, drag the boats across
the currents. I never heard of such a practice, and almost doubted it till
we witnessed the spectacle. There are no fords downwards to its debouche
in the Aral, but in winter it freezes over in several places, sufficiently
strong to bear the transit of the kafilas, which is singular in a parallel
of latitude under 40 degrees, and at a very inconsiderable elevation.
The bed of the river, where we crossed it, scarce attains the level of
the Punjab rivers, in the line of our route, as well as we can estimate by
the boiling point of our thermometers, which are the only means left us.
Prinsep, in a letter to Burnes, reminds us of this resource (in the absence
of barometers), to verify the levels of the Aral and the Caspian ; but thia
Digitized by
Google
1831] tmd &r. Gerard, from Pishdmar to Bokhdra. \7
method (at least with common thermometers, where the divisions which
•re so small, answer to so large an equivalent) is scarcely appreciable
to the extent of 200 or 300 feet, which those land-locked seas are sup-
posed to be depressed below the surface of the ocean. In this dry cli-
mate, the horary variations of the barometer would amount to more
than the above quantity, but we shall lose noopportunity of using every
means to confirm so curious a conjecture, if it is not already settled.
From theOxusto Bokhara is more or less a desert tract, and the surface
of the soil undergoes every modification of barrenness, from the hills just
sprinkled with vegetation, to the hard-baked floor and dead sand heaps.
Hie first four days no villages but camps of Turkmans were passed.
The water was either salt or saliferous, and owingto our folly in trusting
to information which is in its nature imperfect, as the springs of potable
water are as variable as the sand hills, we suffered excessively from thirst,
Ac sun raged with a burning heat, and we had no defence against it but our
clothes. The wind of the desert dried* us like parchment, but the nights
were cool, and often cold : this however did not take place till towards day
hreak, and the few hours sleep we then got were deliriously refreshing,
after heaving up and down upon a camel's back all night. The face of the
country was very uneven, almost hilly ; we at last came to waves of
pure sand which were said to shift their position, like those in the
African deserts, and we eagerly looked out for the moving heaps ; but all
• u In the journey from the Oxus to Bokhara, the mean difference between the
wet bulb and the temperature of the air was upwards of 20°, the extreme difference
often 34* and 35°, and the least 10° or 11°, but in Calcutta during the same
month (July) 3°. 5 is the mean difference, and 5°. 5 and 2° the maximum and
■ ri i fma m," At Benares, according to Prinsep, the difference between the wet and
dry bulbs is s om e tim e s 37° in the hot season. Bokhara seems to be drier in July
than Calcutta is in January : — can July be the driest month at Bokhara, when the
cold season appears to be driest in other parts of the world ?' If the cold weather is
driest here in winter, the evaporation must be astonishing, which will account for
the excessive degree of cold in so low a latitude as 39° 43'.
" The evaporation from a cup can be easily measured by a scale : I found it
■ore than once amount to two inches, in 24 hours, the thermometer being from
72* to 104° in the open air ; in the shade, since entering Turkistan, the highest has
teen 110°, and the lowest 54°, which occurred in the desert. In so arid an atmos-
phere you may suppose we do not complain of heat, although the thermometer
* every day 97* and 98° in the house, and the more one perspires here the colder one
becomes. It is owing to the hygrometrical state of the air, that we see ice made when
*fe thermometer is above 50°, and by increasing the aridity, ice might be made
at 70* : fa met a difference of 37° is nearly that in the driest months here, we ought
therefore to expect ice with the thermometer at 80°. This great aridity will ac-
count for the state of our feelings, the formation of ice, preservation of meat, drying
of fruits, cold, vegetation, and many other phenomena."
D
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. Burn* [Jaw.
I could believe of such an occurrence, and which I saw, was the currents
of loose sand raised from the surface by the wind, or blown from one
place to another, the heaps themselves being immovable *n mane, At
Karshi, which the map places full half way, we were seized with fever, no
doubt from the swamps of Balkh or the miasms of the Oxus. Barnes
was first taken ill (some days previous), and here I and two of our party
with a tea merchant followed, and as I delayed treating myself as
doctors usually do, it was not until I had been a week in Bokhara, and
after quantities of quinine, that I recovered, but the poor merchant died*
He was an intelligent and agreeable companion, and the few days we
were together in the desert, left the impression of a long period of friend-
ship. In our situation we become acquainted with individuals who, wiser
in local experience than ourselves, entertain us by their adventures, and
from whom we separate with regret. The fate of this man, out of so
small a party and in so short a time, was a matter of some reflection to
us, who were even more liable to the effects of climate and the fatigues
of travelling ; it shewed us that without any dangers from robbers,
tyrants, or intolerant bigots, our health was sufficiently precarious, ta
make such a journey of doubtful success ; and though the chances of ad-
venture did not allow us to consider any thing a real hardship, yet on
looking back, we saw ample reason to consider ourselves fortunate in
having so well overcome the trials we were exposed to.
I had almost forgotten to mention that we paid a visit to the de-
solate grave of poor Moorcroft at Balkh. It was a bright moon-light
night, and our Hajf, who attended his remains to the earth, showed
us the way to the spot, which lay amidst marshes, and I could not help
thinking that these very marshes had caused the melancholy event. We
were surprised to hear that the severities of fortune, which accompanied
MoorcrofVs career from the beginning, had pursued him even beyond the
grave, and that a burial place was barely permitted to his remains, upon
the skirts of the city and on the outside of a garden wall. The spot is
retired, and had we not been guided to it, by one who had witnessed
the interment, we might have searched or inquired in vain for the site.
We were unprepared for such a spirit of odious prejudice as seems to
have prevailed against this lamented individual, for the same feelings
did not exist in regard to Mr. Trebeck. Mr. Guthrie's body is contiguous.
Those solitary receptacles have for the first time been seen by an Euro-
pean eye, and remote as they are from friends or countrymen, they are
nevertheless unmolested, where they themselves, while living, had gained
by their praise- worthy conduct, a respect and remembrance that will
long be cherished in Turkistan ; and if they encountered some tyrants
and wretches in their long travels, they met with many friends and well-
zed by Google
J WSJ «rf Dr. Gerard, from Phhdmar to Bokhdra. \ 9
•nd have left thename of Englishman with all the honors which
ILT^^TL A ! Kmhi WC bada 8 P ecim enof the gardens which
!«*i^^ celebrated m their descriptions of Samarkhand and Bokhara-
Zt nL^^ ? riCOt8 •"* iCC ' ""* * **** both in spite of an ague
ttoalmoetshook me to pieces. We heard of slaves for sale here^d
a young Hindu of our party, a clever and promising lad from the Delhi
institution, whose thirst for knowledge leads him into many strange
«toatH»9, has the following dialogue in his journal about the traffic
It is headed « a trick or jest for a slave girl, " and I extract it literally*
- Chi my return from bazar I besought a man to shew me the house
of the merchant who sells men and women, which I reached after
traversing very hot streets. The merchant received me civilly, and sent
for three women from a room adjoining to that which was his own
He told them to sit before me. and then inquired of me which I liked
to boy. I replied to him, the young one, who had regular features;
was mild and attractive, her stature elegant, though below the middle
me, while her wit and vivacity exceeded even her allurements. In
the mean time the two others, who were neither ugly nor beautiful,
stood up and went into their rooms; the young one followed soon
after, but sat in a separate place, guarded by a very old man. I was
told by the merchant to go in the &ame room, to speak, to laugh, and
tocontent the girl. I Bat out to the girl, and conversed in the following
manner. I love you and liketo buy you, art contented and pleased with
me? She smiles and says, No, I do not like you, because she is afraid per-
haps I sell her to another after enjoying my own gratification : her name
was Gul-sad-barg, (the flower of a hundred leaves.) After much alter-
cation, she says, Very well, I should swear not to sell her again and
make please to her master. The old man who sat by the door told her
to stand and to show me her whole body according to the custom, which
means perhaps that there be not any sort of disorder in her person.
All her body was crystalline, her age was 13 or 14 years. I talked with
her a kmg time on various subjects, inquiring her nativity and birth ;
she said her home was in Badakhshan, and she had a large family: she
was ravished by the ruler of the country, and sold to this merchant. On
•ring this she brought a flood of tears in her eyes, and said, For God's
mke buy soon, and release me from the hands of this unmerciful Uzbek.
It made me very sorry : I cursed the ruler, and bestowed a maledic-
two on her merchant who troubles her. I instantly got up and came
tway to my camp, without seeing or telling any word to the merchant,
» I had not inclination to buy her. The experience and fun induced
Be to make a trick for investigating the principles of slave merchants*
s 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
20 Continuation of the Route of Lieut. A. Bumeg [Jan.
who I say are very miserable, criminal, savage, and unmerciful men
indeed."
At this place a conspiracy was attempted to be formed against us by
a Persian of our kafila, a man of consummate address and knavery,
and rumours were afloat that the king of Bokhara had interdicted our
entering his capital ; but the extravagance of the plot almost betrayed
its falsehood : however, considering the influence and conduct of the
Nizir, who was the bosom companion of the Persian, and with no other
voucher of our character but our passports, we did not like the circum-
stances, though they scarcely made us uneasy. The remaining four
marches to Bokhara had less of the desert in them ; the undulations
continued ; also sand and salt-water. Sometimes the true and unlimited
horizon was spread before the eye ; at last, on the 27th of June, we ar-
rived in this fine city, which had a few months before appeared so remote
and uncertain. I have written so much that you must not at present ex-
pect any account of this ancient place. The transit of letters from this is
very uncertain, and to give them a chance of safety from the AUemans
(robbers), and even the Khybaris near Peshawar, we must fold them in
the native fashion. The usages of the Muhammedan government are
here extremely strict, and the precepts of their religion are fulfilled with
awful rigor ; we are not likely to come under any of the penalties, ex-
cept, indeed, we are seen drunk in the streets, or smoking publicly, nei-
ther of which there is any chance of; but we might certainly have com-
mitted ourselves in regard to dress, which for all infidels is strictly
defined and peremptorily imposed, and if we are naturally obnoxious to
their sight, our dress adds to the spectacle. A black cap on our head
and a rope round our waist, are particularly interesting ; for we have
only to pull the cap over our face and put the rope about our neck, to
make us really a spectacle ! We are allowed to reside in a private house
after some little remonstrance; a public slrai is our proper dwelling
place. We cannot ride within the walls of the city, and must push our
way through the densely-peopled streets, which detracts considerably
from our interest in the scenes of the bazar, and in our walks in an
atmosphere so warm and dusty. Moorcroft was permitted to ride, but
he was in character, and brought presents for the king and his courtiers;
but this privilege was only granted on condition that his Muhammedan
syces should accompany him mounted, as they could not be seen on
foot attending an infidel on horseback. We have no character at all to
support, except it is that of faqirs or beggars (not religious mendi-
cants). The garments of all other unbelievers are similar to those in
which we are accoutred, such as Hindus, Armenians, and Jews, and
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] md Dr. Gerard, firm P&kdwor to Bokhdra. 21
these last we especially resemble in every thing except their features.
The r e st r i c ti on we feel most is being unable to write, but this is more
oar fault, or our courtesy, than any actual prohibition of the state, for as
we can elude suspicion by writing at night, it is only the chance of de-
tection that prevents us taking up our pen in the day time. As I can-
not see well by lamp light I shall not attempt making a single note, and
by the time we leave this I shall remember nothing to write about. I
have seen the minister, Gh6s Begi, once : he is a curious old man, and
very fond of decorum, though without state or show in himself. He is
always finding fault with our dress or posture in sitting ; and this last is
no easy matter, although we have -been trying it for six months past.
With all the Begi's shrewd penetration, he seems to be at a loss what
to make of us.
Upon the whole, our reception at Bokhara, if not remarkable for dis-
tinction (except indeed that regarding our dress), or favors (neither of
which we had the least claim to, and I at least had no expectations of),
has been sufficiently respectable and civil ; and with the people, whether
in the crowded bazars, in public serais, in private converse, or in the
mosques, our name and country have been a recommendation instead of
a pivot for insult and ignominy ; and this too in a city notoriously ortho-
dox in religious duties, and where Mohammedan principles of everykind
are fearfully arbitrary. We have not heard the epithet of kdfir from
one end of our journey to the other, and only at one place, near Attok,
some boys used the expression of monkeys. Wherever we have gone
and appeared as Europeans, that character has been respected ; and we
may depend upon it, that the name of Englishman, whether this is un-
derstood by Feringi or Angrez, if assumed with discretion, is our best
passport.
We have no chance of seeing the king, except in the open streets
with the rest of the mob : the rascal of a Nazir has played us this trick.
Dost Muhammed's letter would have done us a service. The bazars here
are splendid, and the police regulations admirable. Bokhara is a large
and populous city, eight miles in circuit, and exceeding any we have
met with in our journey. There are many fine colleges and other build-
ings ; the Uzbeks are a handsome race, but the Jews, (more especially
the Jewesses,) carry off the palm of beauty. There is more religion,
more law and justice, and more crime, than in any place of equal size
mAsia; but property and life are safer than in most cities in the world,
whether civilized or savage. The people here are much more fami-
liar with the Russians than with the English, and another Russian em-
bassy is soon expected at Bokhara. People from all parts of the world
Digiti
zed by G00gle
22 Continuation of the Route of Lieut, A. Bumes. [Jah.
except China are seen here. Every hody drinks tea, generally after
our fashion, but without milk ; there is a kind of tea called banka which
comes via Russia from China ; it costs 10 rupees, and is very fine flavor-
ed, and it is said that a sea voyage injures it.
The banka tea goes from China to Russia by a direct road, avoid-
ing Yarkdnd, as by being packed up in small canisters it will not bear
export by the mountainous route, and by coming here from Orenburgh
it thus attains a very high price ; the tea trade is immense. We
first saw loaf sugar at Khulm, and it is the same as we have at home.
Many people in Bokhara wear watches, all of London mechanism.
In the Bazar we see tea urns with, the red hot iron in the middle to
keep the water warm, and many things remind us of Europe.
We have tried horse's flesh, and having beef at the same time, we
gave the preference to the former; but whatever Elphinstone says about
hong's flesh being the food of any part of the people, it is at least very
rare, and beef is far from frequent.
The climate, that eternal subject, is warmer than is agreeable; in fact
it is sultry, but dry, and otherwise delicious, the sun shining out his entire
course, and not a cloud in the air. How very different from India at this
season ! The nights are generally cool, but we find sleeping in the air
necessary for comfort ; the usual range of the temperature outside is from
74° to 103°, rising to 106° in the streets: we loathe the air in a room
heated to 96° and even 1 10°, and, although sitting quietly, we feel it rather
disagreeable ; but in so arid a climate, the sensation is less oppressive at
this degree of temperature, than at 80° in India, at the same season.
The most singular part of the climate is the intense cold of winter,
which freezes such a stream as the Oxus. The blocks of solid ice in
the bazars here indicate the severity of the weather, and can only be
explained by the extreme dryness of the air.
There are disturbances at Urganj, and their army has marched to at-
tack the Persians on the line of our route ; we therefore know nothing of
our prospects : but it strikes me we shall be forced to take the road to
Meshid. Burnes and myself are now quite recovered. I have received no
letters since the middle of March, and the only dawk which has reached
us since crossing the Indus, we got at Khulm, and by it came Noa. I
and 2 of the Journal of the Asiatic Society ; it will please the Editor
to know, that his work spreads itself over such distant regions. I have
picked up some coins here, bearing Greek inscriptions and heads, and
Something like masonic insignia upon a small axe ; but I am too distant
here to venture to send the originals, though I may impressions."
Bokhdra, \bth July.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] On the Manufacture of Saltpetre. 23
II.— On the Manufacture of Saltpetre, as practised by the Natives of
TtrhiU. By Mr. J. Stevenson. Supt. H. C.'s Saltpetre Factories in
Bekar. Hltf;
Hie soil of Tirhoot almost every where contains a large proportion
of saline matter, such as nitrate of potass (saltpetre), nitrate of lime,
sulphate, and muriate of soda, &c* but in general the sulphate of soda
is most abundant. The saltpetre (as well as the other salts) lies in
patches as it were, some parts being more productive than others, ac-
cording as carbonate of lime and sand alternately predominate. By
analyzing the different soils, I have found those places most productive
of nitre to contain a redundancy of the former ; and on the contrary,
where the soil was unproductive, I found a redundancy of the latter
substance. I am therefore naturally led to the conclusion, that carbo-
nate of lime is one of the principal agents in the formation of this arti-
cle. This will also account for the district of Tirhut being more pro*
tractive of nitre than any other place in India, for almost half of its soil
is calcareous ; an average sample of it, collected from various places
where saltpetre abounds, and carefully analyzed, gave me the composi-
tion as follows. 100 parts being operated upon.
Matterinsolublemthethi^enimeralacids, Silex, 50.0
Matter soluble in ditto, Carbonate of lime, 44.3
r Sulphate of Soda, 2.7
Matter soluble in water, <
Muriate of do 1 .4
Nitrate of Lime, 0.9
Nitrate of Potass, 0.7
100.0
This analysis does not agree with Dr. John Davy's, but be it remem-
bered, that scientific gentleman operated upon saltpetre earth from
the factories, which of course contains more saline matter than the
general soil.
In the month of November, the loneahs or native manufacturers of
saltpetre commence their operations, by scraping the surface off from
old mud heaps, mud buildings, waste grounds, &c. where tne saltpetre
has developed itself in a thin white efflorescence, resembling frost rind.
Thia saline earth being collected at the factories, the operator first sub-
jects it to the processes of solution and filtration. This is effected by
9 I hare not been able to ascertain whether the sajji matt* (native carbonate of
soda) is found in this district ; as far as my own observations have extended, it does
sot form a part of the composition of the soil. I also could not detect any alumina,
though it is likely some parts may contain it.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
24 On the Manufacture of Saltpetre. [Jan.
a large mud filter, lined on the inside with stiff clay. It is a round
hollow basin, in shape resembling the top of a well, from 6 to 8 inches
in diameter. A false bottom is formed of pieces of bamboo, laid close,
and resting upon pieces of brick. This leaves an empty space of a few
inches above the solid bottom, for an outlet to the filtered liquor. Over
these bambus, a covering of strong close wrought grass mats are laid,
which complete this simple form of filter. The operation then proceeds
with the process, by spreading over the mats a thin layer of vegetable
ashes, generally from the indigo plant, upon which the earth to be sub-
jected to the filtering process is laid, and trodden down level, and to
the desired solidity, by the operator's feet. This requires great atten-
tion on the part of the man who performs it : for if too solid, the water
will pass through too slow ; on the contrary, if too soft, the water will
pass through too quick; for the solution of the saline matter to take place,
and the full products would not be obtained. After this point has been
adjusted, water is poured gently upon the earth to the depth of four or
five inches, according to the size of the filter and quantity of earth
used, (one of six feet diameter will filter 20 maunds of earth.) The
whole is then suffered to remain tranquil for several hours, during which
time the water gradually passes through the earth, dissolving the saline
matter in its passage, and filtering through the mats, drops into the
empty space between the solid and false bottoms, and is conveyed by
means of a spout of bambu, or a hollow tile, into an earthen receiver,
made large enough to hold the full quantity of filtered liquor, and half
sunk in the ground for the purpose.
The saltpetre liquor thus obtained is more or less coloured with oxide
of iron and decomposed vegetable matter. Its specific gravity also
varies with the quality of the earth operated upon. An average from
a great number of filters gave me 1.120.
The second process is to evaporate the saltpetre liquor to a crystal-
lizing state, which is effected in earthen pots fixed in two rows, over
an oblong cavity dug in the ground, the interstices between the post
being filled up with clay. An aperture at one end of the cavity serves
for an egress to the smoke ; another at the opposite end is used for the
introduction of fuel, which is generally dry fallen leaves gathered from
the dm topes (mango groves) : such are the simple materials used in
this part of the manufacture. The boiling is continued till the liquor is
evaporated to the crystallizing point, which is ascertained by the opera-
tor taking from time to time a small portion of the liquor from the
pots, and setting it aside to cool in small earthen dishes, like a common
saucer. After the liquor has cooled, and the crystals formed agreeable
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] On the Manufacture of Saltpetre. 25
to the practice of the operator, the fire is stayed, and the liquor remov-
ed to large shallow earthen dishes (which are used instead of crystal-
lizing coolers), placed in rows, and sunk to the hrim in soft earth. At
the end of about 30 hours, the process of crystallization is finished. The
crystals of saltpetre are taken out of the coolers, and put into baskets to
drain, after which they are removed to the store-house, ready for sale.
Daring the operation of boiling, it occasionally happens that too much
heat has been used, and the pots are in danger of boiling over. To
prevent this, the operator has a very simple remedy, which our more
scientific operators might not be ashamed to take a lesson from — a bunch
of dry jungle grass is fixed at a right angle, to the end of a stick ; this
is dipped into the liquor, and held up over the pot, and the liquor, which
it had absorbed, falls down in a shower (cooled by the air) into the
vessel it had been taken from. The temperature being thus reduced,
the evaporation proceeds more steadily, and the accidental boiling over
is prevented. The mother liquor, remaining after the crystals of saltpetre
have been removed, is returned to the evaporating pots, and mixed with
a fresh portion of the liquor from the filters, for a second boiling, and
crystallization. The extraneous salts, such as sulphate and muriate of
soda, which the filtered liquor from the earth always contains, are partly
found at the bottom of the pots, (the muriate of soda in particular,) and
partly in the mother liquor, remaining after the process of crystallization.
But to separate them more effectually, the manufacturer passes the li-
quor from the boilers through a piece of coarse cloth, placed in a basket ;
and when the liquor has drained through, the greater part of the ex-
traneous salts are found on the cloth. To do this effectually, it is ne-
cessary, that the liquor should be at the boiling point, otherwise the
saltpetre liquor would not leave the sulphates and muriates, but would
form an anhydrous mass.
The muriate of soda, or common salt, is rendered more pure by a sub-
sequent boiling. It is then called by the natives pakwanimak, and
is sold in the bazars as an article for culinary purposes. The remaining
extraneous salts — sulphate of soda, nitrate of lime, &c. are returned to
the earth, to undergo a change by decomposition against another season.
The nitrate of lime is decomposed by the carbonate of potass, which the
vegetable ashes, used in the process, contain. When solutions of these
salts come in contact with each other, a mutual decomposition takes
place. The nitric acid of the lime combines with the potass, and the,
carbonic acid of the potass combines with the lime. Thus two new salts
are formed, viz/ nitrate at potass (saltpetre), and carbonate of lime. In
this manner, the old earth, which has already produced saltpetre, is re-
generated, and rendered productive against other seasons. The native
B
Digiti
zed by G00gle
26 On the Manufacture of Saltpetre, [Jan.
man uf ac tur ers are aware of this fact, but not being able to account for
it on scientific principles, they say, that saltpetre generates or develope*
saltpetre ; but I dare say that most scientific men will concur with me,
that the above idea of the natives is next to a physical impossibility.
Owing to the porous nature of the earthen crystallizing vessels, a part
of the saltpetre liquor oozes through the bottom, and is absorbed by the
earth on which the utensils are placed, occasionally they are broken,
and the contents of course falls into the earth below. This earth is .
again subjected to the process of filtration, and the practice of the
manufacturer, in order to obtain what had been wasted in the above
manner. Thus the loneahs proceed from season to season, without
the least deviation or alteration in their manufacture. No persuasion^
however reasonable, by way of improvement, will cause them to alter
the plans which their forefathers had in practice ; and it is probable, that
the methods used at present were the same three thousand years ago.
The saltpetre obtained in the above manner, which I have attempted
to describe, is a very impure article, termed by the natives dhoah, and
is sold at the rate of from two to three rupees a maund. It generally
contains from 45 to 70 per cent, of pure nitre. The following analysis
was tried from an average of several hundred maunds of what was
stated to be of good quality, and brought three rupees eight annas per
maund. 100 grains operated upon.
Insoluble matter, sand, and mud, 5.0
Sulphate of soda, 9.1
Muriate of do 8.0
Total impurity, 22.1
Nitre, 77.9
100.0
This may be taken as a fair sample of the quality that the loneahs
produce in general, but when it passes from their hands to the saltpetre
merchants, it is frequently adulterated with sand, mud, and dirty salts
of various kinds, to such a degree, that it scarcely contains 50 per cent,
of pure nitre. A sample of this adulterated article from 15,000 maunds
gave me the following result :
Insoluble matter, sand, and mud, 22.7
Sulphate of soda, , 23.8
Muriate of do 4.2
Total impurity, 50.7
Nitre, 49.3
100.0
Digitized by
Google
1833.] On the Greek Coins in the Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. 27
To produce the article called by the natives kaltnee (crystallized in
long prisms, meaning the best kind of saltpetre), the dhoah is
re-dissolved and crystallized ; the percentage of nitre will then amount
from 85 to 95, pure; but this is only done by the opulent native
merchants who supply the Calcutta bazar.
In conclusion, I have only to observe, that the above methods of
manufacturing saltpetre, used by the natives of this country, although
rude, yet are very Bimple, and more effective than most of our
scientific chemists, at first sight, would suppose. No manufacture in
Europe can equal it in point of cheapness and simplicity; and when it is
considered, that these simple people have no knowledge whatever of
chemistry as a science, it is surprising how well they manage to make
the rough article. At least, such were the ideas that struck me during
the many hours (and I may add pleasant ones) that I have spent in'
observing the simple, but not altogether ineffective, plans and operations
of this industrious manufacturing people.
The above notices claim no merit, except that of truth. They are
the result of observations and notes taken on the spot, during a resi-
dence of two years in the district of Tirhut; province of Behar.
Tirhtit, 1th December, 1832.
IV. — On the Greek Coins in the Cabinet of the Asiatic Society.
By James Prinsep, Secretary. ^ftX
Having in the first volume of the Journal described the Roman
Coins of the Society's Cabinet, with such explanations as might, I
hoped, be of use to those who were untutored in the mysteries of nu-
mismatology, so that, by the aid of the drawings, they might be able
to recognize the type of Roman fabrication in any antique specimens
which they were likely to discover on the continent of India, I now pro-
pose to follow up the subject, as promised in my former paper,
by extending my examination of the Society's Cabinet, through their
aeries of Greek and Persian coins, (leaving the Indian Coins for a fu-
ture occasion ;) and I believe that although the specimens of the two
first are far from being numerous in our collection, still the drawings
of them will be found sufficient to furnish tolerable guides for the
assistance of the student in discriminating the coins of these countries
at different periods of their history.
I cannot say how many out of the whole have been found in India
itself; many on the contrary appear to have been brought from Persia.
b 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
98 On the Greek Coins of the [Jan.
Both Grecian and Persian coins however are met with frequently in
India, and it is very easy to know them when once their forms have been
presented to the eye. Several were brought by Col. Wilson from Per-
sia, who kindly permitted me to take drawings of them ; Lieut. ConoDy
obtained a few in his overland journey to India : and Lieut. Burnes has
favored me with one or two specimens of a number of coins collect-
ed by him in Ancient Bactria, a country but recently opened to the in-
vestigation of the antiquarian.
It is from this unexplored part of Asia that we may confidently ex-
pect a multitude of Grecian antiquities gradually to be developed. Tra-
vellers of all nations are already flocking thither to trace the steps
and discover the monuments of Alexander's Indian conquests. The
most successful in this interesting line of research, partly from the ad-
vantage of his rank in Maha-raja Ranjit Singh's service, has been Ge-
neral Ventura, who, imitating Belzoni at the Pyramids of Egypt, instead
of conjecturing and speculating upon the origin of the celebrated Tope
or mound of Manikyala in the Punjab, set boldly to work in 1830 to
pierce into its solid mass by digging. He was rewarded by the disco-
very of numerous coins and other relics which had lain untouched for
perhaps twenty centuries*. A Russian antiquary I understand had pre-
viously amassed a vast collection of Greek coins in the same country.
But it is by no means in the Punjab alone that we are to look for an-
tiquarian riches : the north-western provinces of India offer as large
a field of enquiry — and if the coins of Kanouj and Oudh are less inter-
esting from the nature of the characters in which their legends are
graven being wholly unknown, they should nevertheless be regarded as
more curious because they speak this unknown language and remain
the only records of kingdoms and revolutions whose existence is but
faintly discernible on the page of history.
It is principally to instigate those who have opportunities of forming
collections in the upper provinces, that I have drawn up these notes,
and I cannot adduce a more powerful motive for studying and search-
ing, than the example and success of that indefatigable investigator of
history and antiquity, Major Tod, who thus describes his method of
forming a collection in the 1st vol. of the Trans. Roy. As. Soc.
" For the last twelve years of my residence in India, (amongst
Mahrattas and Rajputs,) the collecting of coins as an auxiliary to histo-
• An account of General Ventura's operations was communicated to Col. James
Young and by him printed in the newspapers of the day : it is reprinted in the se-
venteenth volume of the Researches, page 600.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. 29
ry was one of my pursuits : and in the rainy season I had a person
employed at Matkard and other old cities to collect all that were
brought to light hy the action of the water while tearing up old foun-
dations, and levelling mouldering walls.
In this manner I accumulated about 20,000 coins of all denomina-
tions ; among which there may be not above one hundred calculated to
excite interest, and perhaps not above one-third of that number to be
considered of value : but among them there is an Apollodotus and a
MsnaKdsr, besides some rare medals of a Parthian dynasty, probably
yet unknown to history."
The coins of Greece are divided by numismatologists into two prin-
cipal series : the civic, and the monarchical. The former comprehends
all the moneys of the different states of Ancient Greece, bearing the
names of their cities and people, and the symbols and devices em-
blematical of them, or the. figures of the tutelary deities under
whose especial protection they considered themselves placed. The
monarchical series begins with the Macedonian dynasty, or about
500 years before Christ, continuing throughout the kings of Macedon,
and, after the division of Alexander's empire among his generals and
successors, subdividing itself into the several branches of the Seleucian
or Syrian, the Egyptian, the Bactrian, the Parthian and Armenian
dynasties ; besides, which may be enumerated the Pontine kings and se-
veral of minor importance.
The civic coins, of which the Hunterian Cabinet at Glasgow contains
10 magnificent a collection, are generally supposed to be more ancient
than the monarchical series ; they are mostly of ruder fabrication, but
the figures of animals and gods are sometimes executed with great
skill : the period of the highest proficiency in the arts is, however, uni-
versally acknowledged to be the age of Alexander, or the third century
before Christ : the coins of this distant age, even the meagre and
scattered specimens which we have picked up in India, are so exquisitely
finished as to furnish models to artists and sculptors of the present day,
while they almost defy their best powers of imitation.
The inscriptions found upon the earlier coins are generally the rude
initials of the names of cities or people, becoming more complete as we
descend in the series : the names of chiefs or principal men and priests
are introduced sometimes at a later period, but as no dates are given
it is impossible to assign any exact age to most of the civic coinage.
Throughout the Macedonian series the names of princes are introduced,
and history affords chronological data for their classification. The inscrip-
tions are generally written in straight and parallel lines, differing in
Digiti
zed by G00gle
30 On the Greek Coins in the [Jan.
this respect from the legends of Roman coins which are peripheral, as
are those of the imperial Greek coins, which are merely translations of
the latter.
It has been urged that the Greek coins although inferior to the Re-
man, because they afford no record of important events or of dates to
assist in the elucidation of history, yet have an intrinsic value of their
own, from the service they have rendered to Geography in preserving
and exhibiting the names of a multitude of cities and colonies, and by the
frequency of their occurrence, or by their superior workmanship, throwing
light upon the relative importance of states. Other local peculiarities are
marked by the devices they bear, the origin of many of which is easily trac-
ed in the history or mythology of this classical nation : thus, the emblem
on almost all the coins of Athens is an owl, the bird of Minerva : for
Corinth, we have, according to Pinkerton, the winged horse : a wolfs
head for Argos; a bull's head for Boeotia; a minatour's head and the
labyrinth for Crete ; a horse's head for Pharsalia ; a lion for Marseilles ;
a tortoise for Peloponnesus ; a sphinx for Scio ; three legs joined for
Sicily ; a horse for Thessaly ; a crescent for Byzantium, the origin of
which deserves mention from its having since become the badge of
Mohammedanism. When Philip of Macedon besieged the place, and was
going to storm it in a cloudy night, the moon shone out and discovered
his approach, so that the inhabitants observed and repulsed him. The
Turks upon entering Constantinople found this ancient badge in many
places, and suspecting some magical power in it, assumed the symbol and
its power to themselves*.
The general demonination of the silver money among the Greeks was
the drachma, or eighth part of an ounce, which according to Pinkerton
was about ninepence, or a penny more in value than the denarius ; from
the drachma were derived the half, double, and quadruple, or hemi drachma,
didrachma, tetradrachma, &c. The smallest silver coin was the obolos,
but that was also, and generally, a copper piece.
After these few introductory remarks I will proceed to notice the coins
in our possession, beginning with those of the
Greek Cities.
Plate I. Fig. 1 . A silver coin in the Society's Cabinet.
Obverse, A lion walking with head erect. Double triangular symbol
2$- and stars,
Reverse. Jupiter sitting. Legend illegible ; tetradrachma : weight
250 grs.
• Pinkerton, i. 241.
Digitized by
Google
1 833.] Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. 3 1
Hie lion occurs bat seldom on the coins of Greek towns in the Hunterian col-
lection, and no where with the obverse of Jupiter. It is found on the coins of
Messana in Sicily, and Velia in Italy (TEAHTAN) ; also in some of Smyrna
bat by the figure of Jupiter it is more probable that this coin belongs to the Alex-
andrine series.
Fig. 2. — A silver coin, brought from Persia, by Col. Wilson.
Obverse. Head of Minerva with helmet, facing the right.
Reverse. Pegasus flying towards the right.
It is impossible to say, for want of letters or signs, to what town this coin be-
longs. Many used the same devices, as Leucas, Cleone, (Hunter 100,) Corinth, &c.
Fig. 3. — A silver coin, belonging to Col. Wilson.
Obverse. Man astride upon a dolphin.
Reverse. Man riding on a horse.
This device is very common indeed on the coins of Taras, or Tarentum, in Italy,
(Hunter 305.)
Fig. 7. — A small copper coin, purchased from an Armenian in Cal-
cutta, bearing on one side a handsome head of the city,
with a turret-crown. On the reverse — a Griffin, with
something in her mouth. Above — the inscription is of
three lines, of which the letters L C A . . .
ANT TIOXO
HTE
are visible. It may probably be of Antioch, in Syria.
Macedonian Coins.
Fig. 4. — A silver drachma of Alexander the Great. (As. Soc.) wt.
62 grains.
Obverse. Head of Hercules, beardless, covered with a lion's skin,
coming under the ear like a horn.
Reverse. Jupiter seated, holding an eagle in the right hand : a staff
in the left, along the left side aaehanapot, and
below A 2 I A E O. (j&unAcas).
Fig. 5. — Another, similar, but of half of the size, hemidrachma.
Another, tetradrachma, (220 grs.,) of similar device. As. Soc.
Fig. 10. — Another, legend illegible. Ditto.
The head of Alexander himself occurs very rarely on the coins of his reign :—
they are known by the ram's horn on his forehead introduced as a mark of his des-
cent from Jupiter Ammon : the ram's horn is quite different from the lappet of the
lion's skin in the present specimens, which might at first mislead the student.
Fig. 8. Obverse. — Head of Hercules in the lion's skin.
Reverse. A club, with the inscription aetkaaihn timose OS.
Fig. 9. — Another coin, of the same device, with aetkaaian
a a m t a o 2. Both in possession of Col. T. Wilson.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
32 On the Greek Coins in the [Jan.
• These two coins were struck at Lencas, a town near the celebrated promontory
of the same name in Acamania, whence Sappho precipitated herself into the sea.
The Honterian Cabinet contains a multitude of coins of this place, but none with
these names of.Timotaeos and Lemulos, or Damnlos.
Syrian Coins. (Fig. \\.)
Next to the Alexandrine series, in point of time, and of merit, rank
the coins of the princes of Syria, the descendants of Seleucus Nicator,
who, upon the partition of Asia among the officers of Alexander, took
possession of Syria, and subjected to his sway all the provinces up to
the Indus. Of the Seleucidae kings-, I lately obtained one silver coin
from a Babylonian Jew ; it is represented in Fig. 1 1 , and is in beauti-
ful preservation ; the head, in high relief, and of exquisite workman-
ship, wears the fillet or diadem, which belonged exclusively to royalty,
and was not even assumed by the Roman emperors, until the reign of
Diocletian. On the reverse, is a sitting figure of Ceres, with a cornucopia
in her left hand, and a sceptre (or torch?) in her right, She sits on an
ornamental chair^ the leg of which is formed of a winged Cupid with a
Dolphin tail. Beneath is a symbol compounded 6f the letters A and T
which is supposed, to stand for Antioch. The inscription is distinct
BA2IAAEH2 AHMHTPIOT *IAAAEA*OT N I K ATOP O 3, which
refers to Demetrius II. Nicator, who reigned 145 years before Christ.
It is a tetradrachma.
Fig. 6. — A small silver drachma in the Society's cabinet. Head, in
good relief , with simple band.
B. c. 292. Jupiter seated on a* solid altar, holding thunderbolt, or
priest sitting on the veiled stool. Down the sides
QA2IAEOS AHMHTPIOT.
This coin of Demetrius is recognized to be Seleucidan, from the figure of Aipollo
sitting upon a peculiar altar described by Pinkerton as " a hamper inverted. 'Some
think this seat is that upon which the priest of A^pollo at Daphne, near Antioch,
used to sit to retum'oracles. It was placed over an aperture of the floor of. the
temple through which the gale of inspiration was thought to raise." A Demetrius
occurs in the Macedonian series— and also among the Bactrian princes.
Egyptian Series.
The coins of the Ptolemaean dynasty equal, in beauty and interest,
the others of Macedonian origin : the silver pieces are very numerous,
the brass and copper pieces exceed in dimensions all , other an-
tiques : they weigh about two ounces. The Eagle almost always
appears as the reverse of the Egyptian kings; the date of the reign
is also marked on the silver in Greek numerals preceded by l or \ma farrot.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Joum.M.Soc Vol II. Ft
(GiRJSmEL <U@IW$
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Another.
Ditto
Another.
Ditto
Another.
Ditto
Another.
Ditto
Another.
Ditto
Another.
Ditto
Another.
Ditto
1833.] Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. 33
AH of the silver specimens in our possession seem to belong to the
same Ptolemy, from the marked physiognomy and projecting chin.
^V- 12. — A silver tetradrachma, brought from Egypt by Mr. Drew.
Obverse. Head, with curly hair, bound with a diadem.
Reverse. TTie Eagle of Jupiter standing on a thunderbolt, with the
inscription iitoaemaiot BAJiAEn* nA lih (anno 18).
A coin of Ptolemy the First of Egypt, or it may be of Ptolemy the Fifth, B. C. 204,
as Pmkerton says his coins hare mostly the letters nA or 3A, explained to signify
Ptphos or Salamis, both cities of Cyprus, which island was part of the Egyptian
monarchy. The weight of all these coins is about 212 grs. ;
Another. Same device L H or Anno 8 belong- J. P.
L 1 r Anno 13 ing to J. P.
L I A Anno 14 J. P.
L 1 A Anno 14 As. Soc.
Lie Anno 15 „
L 1 z Anno 17 „
L 1 L Anno 17 „
L 1 H Anno 18 „
A large copper coin of one of the elder Ptolemies, bearing
otoae mai or basiaeai Same head and eagle. The
copper coins seldom had any date. Weight 740 grs. J. P.
After the subjection of Egypt as a Roman province, the Emperor's
head always appears on the obverse ; the eagle remaining still the most
common device on the reverse. Fig. 14 is a drawing of the reverse of
two coins of Nero in my possession : the legend is attokpa (for
•vroKporepor hnperatorisj with the date lia (anno 11.)
Fig. 16. — Is the reverse of a Greek coin under the Roman Emperor
Trajanus Decius, (A. D. 250.) It represents the metropo-
lis of the Samosasan colony, as Cybele, with her turretted
crown sitting on a cliff overhanging the ocean ; in her
hands are an eagle and a spike of corn, at her feet a horse,
and around her the legend #a CamoCatehn mht kom
Flaviorum Samosatensium metropolis Commagenes. On
the obverse around the head of the emperor is the in-
scription ATTOKP..TPAIANOC CEB.
According to Pliny Samotasa was a town of Commagenes on the Euphrates. It
was called FUma when taken by Coesennius Pectus and Vespasian. The coin is no-
ticed in Baodurius' work on the medals of the Emperors. The Society procured
it from an Armenian, with other Roman coins, and I have here introduced it as a
better example of the Grecian colonial coinage than that of Prusa in my former
plate.
F
Digiti
zed by G00gle
34 On the Greek Coins of the [Jam,
Parthian or Arsakian Come.
The Parthian monarchy was erected by ArsaceB, who filled the office
of satrap in Bactria, in the year 256 a. c. He had opposed the designs
ofTheodotus, who had first revolted from the third Syro-Macedonian
monarch, and had raised the Bactrian provinces into an independent
kingdom. Being unsuccessful, he fled to Parthia, where he expelled the
governor, and declared himself independent. Vaillant, the numismatolo-
gist, has written a copious history of this powerful dynasty ; and has en-
deavoured to classify the coins of the 29 Arsacidae kings : but it is gene-
rally acknowledged that there is too much of the fanciful in his appro-
priations, and most antiquarians have given up the attempt. The greater
number of the Parthian coins have the same name, apsakot, with different
epithets,— king of kings, the great, beneficent, lover of the Greeks, &c. :
the heads however, are very distinct and numerous.
The most rational mode of arrangement is, to place those which are
best executed first, (for Greek workmen were doubtless then employed.)
And, as the execution falls off, and the Greek characters become obscure,
we may suppose the dynasty to progress towards its absorption into the
Persian empire, in the reign of Alexander Severus. a. d. 226. There is
a remarkable distinction in the head-dress of these princes ; beginning
with the simple band or diadem of the Greek monarchy, it gradually
changes into a deep turban, and at length becomes a high-mitred cap,
like that of the Persian monarchs.
We have two specimens of the larger silver Arsakian coins, and seve-
ral of the smaller ones : the latter, upon which the characters begin to
deteriorate rapidly, I have placed in Plate II. with the Persian coins.
Fig. 13. — One of two silver tetradrachms in the Society's collection..
Obverse. Head of Arsaces I. (dubious) facing the right; with broad
diadem and straight hair.
Reverse. Victory offering a crown to the king, seated, with the legend
BAClAEHC BAC1AEHN ETEPrETOT AIKAIOT EIII*ANOT
♦IAEAAHNOT; the third word APCAKOT is probably ex-
cluded by the die being two large for the coin.
Before passing to the rest of the Arsakian coins, I would here
introduce
Fig. 15. — One of three copper coins belonging to the As. Soc.
They bear on the obverse, a well-executed head, bearded,
and wearing a high-mitred cap. The characters and
device on the reverse of two of them are nearly oblite-
rated, but sufficient remains to shew the portrait of a
female, (probably the wife of the king.) On the third.
Digitized by
Google
1 «*.] Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. 35
which forms the subject of the engraving, some of the
letters are distinct, and appear to read soma or oha
(quasi Bco+t\os)» and on the left hand are some illegible
characters, (Phoenician ?) differing in each.
Below the portrait are the three Greek numerals
VNA or tna (anno 454,) but of what sera, I am at a loss
to conjecture ; it may be of the Arsakian or Armenian,
but I must leave the point to those better versed in the
subject.
To continue the Arsakian coins : —
Fig. 1. Obverse. — Head with wart on the forehead: hair dressed
in rows of curls : plain band, with fillets hanging be-
hind : an eagle apparently with a wreath in its mouth.
Reverse. Figure seated, holding out a bow over the. characters [-+
around BA21AE02 BA2IAEHN APCAKOT ETEPrET AIKAI
Eni*ANO ♦IAEAAH.
Colonel Wilson had four coins with the same symbol, which Vaillant attributes
to Arsaces Vonones XVIII. The eagle may also denote Chosroes ( Vail. ii. 195.)
Fig. 5. — Obverse. Head of peculiar features, with pointed beard and
hooked nose.
Reverse. Sitting figure in trowsers, with bow, very rudely executed
and the legend baCiaeoj apCakot Eni*ANOT2 *iaeaah
Colend Wilson has one similar, and both correspond with one in Vaillant,
marked Arsaces Mithridates II. (V. i. 69.)
Fig. 6. Head with plain turban and bow behind : same inscription
on the reverse, very rudely cut.
Fig. 2. Head with mitred cap, and arched nose, well executed :
type, same as fig. l,BA2iAEfl2 MErAAor apsakot eson
atPos nikatoPo*, of better execution than either of the
foregoing. x
Vaillant ascribes the mitred cap to Arsaces Orodes. Col. Wilson had another coin
4f Mnflar character.
Another. Mitred head similar to fig. 2, but without the hook orna-
ments: same type, BA^iAEns basiaehn ap2akot aikaiot
ETEPrETOT ♦IAEAAHNOT.
Fig. 8. — Head with mitred cap, as in fig. 2, with a peculiar symbol
behind it: same reverse.
Golosel Wilson has another similar to this in head-dress, it is ascribed to
Anaces Orodes (Vail. i. 145.)
Fig. 7 . — Head with deep turban and mitred cap about it, and bow
behind, with fillets of rudest fabrication: character
quite perverted.
r 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
36 On the Greek Coins in the (Jam.
Another. Plain head-dress and device very rude, baiiatt2 oaiiatam
AIIVNO ryllTN AIXAIOV ..XANOVC
In this the knowledge of the Greek letters seems
very fast declining, and it is almost impossible to re-
cognize the inscription to be identical with that of fig. 1 1 .
Another. The same, but more legible; under the bow of all these
there is a kind of altar formed like the letter a
The average weight of the above Arsacidse drachmas
is 60 gre.
Besides the devices given above, Col. Wilson had one head similar
to fig. 1 , with the symbols of the sun and the moon, and a star (fig.
4,) referred by Vaillant to Arsaces Artabanus (I. 221), and another
with two small victories, holding wreaths over the head (fig. 3), which
is not found in Vaillant.
Sassanian Coins.
The Sassanian monarchy in Persia commenced with the year 223,
a. d. when Artaxerxes overturned the Parthian dynasty. It continued
until itself overturned by the Mahomedan caliphs in the year a. d. 636.
No mode of adjusting the numismatology of this period can be attempt-
ed until we are able to read the ancient Pehlevi characters in which their
legends are expressed. Perhaps if a considerable collection of these
coins was made (and they seem to be very common in Persia), some
key might be discovered to the value of the alphabet, for the titles
will be alike in all, and the names are known from history. It seems
a great reflection upon the art, that the coinage of the celebrated Nou-
shirvan should not be known even to his countrymen.
Fig. 9. — A silver coin in the cabinet of the As. Soc.
Obverse. The head of the king facing the left, with curly beard,
and a large tuft of curly hair : a peculiar crown or cap
with two feathers behind : around it a legend in Pehlevi
characters, very distinct, but the purport unknown: it is
given more clearly in A.
Reverse. A fire altar (mithrasj, with two priests or defenders, bear-
ing Bwords or sceptres.
Another coin, similar, and inscription partly identical. (B)
Fig. 10. — Another similar coin. In lieu of the sacred fire on the
altar is substituted the head of a king : little of the le-
gend is visible.
In Colonel Wilson's collection are one or two more of a similar
character, but the fire is the most common symbol : the legend on one
of his (C) differs from the two above given in part, but one word is evi-
zed by Google
1833.] Cabinet of the Asiatic Society. 37
dently the same, so that probably that word and the one which precedes
it in A and B are all common titles of the ruling monarch, as •• King
of Kings," &c. (the Pehlevi reads like the Persian from the right to the
left hand.)
Fig. 12. — A crescent head-dress of this form occnrs in one of Col.
Wilson's coins, in other respects similar to the rest ;
also upon another coin the emblems represented in fig. 3 1 ,
as variations of the priest's wand or sceptre.
Fig, 14. — (of Col. Wilson's series,) has characters which might be
mistaken for Arabic, also emblems of the moon, stars,
and the sacred fire.
Fig. 15. — A small gold coin, of very rude fabrication, brought by
Lieutenant Conolly, from Khorassan : the head has a
crescented cap, and the commencement of the second
part of the inscription agrees with that of figs. A and B.
Reverse. The fire-altar, and priests rudely executed.
Tliis coin was noticed in the Gleanings, vol. iii. 295.
Bactrian Coins.
In the reign of Antiochus II. the third of the Seleucidae, Theodotus,
the governor of Bactria, revolted and established an independent monar-
chy. His capital was the modern Balkh, and his extensive kingdom
included parts of modern Kabul, Khorasan, and Bokhara. It is remarked
by Major Tod as singular, that, although the Arsacidan money is so
plentiful, antiquarians have seldom met with those of the Bactrian princes,
and indeed the names of only nine of them have been rescued from
obscurity. So little was before known, that Major Tod himself may be
said to have commenced the development of this new branch of numis-
matology, and in a worthy manner, — by adding two new medals dis-
covered in India to the only two hitherto known ; — one of Apollodo-
tus, found in the site of an old town, Surapura, between Agra and
Etaweh; the other of Menander from Math'ra*. This example has
instigated others to the search, and a number of Bactrian or Indo-
Scythian coins are now coming to light in the upper provinces. I have
before alluded to General Ventura's discoveries ; and to those of Messrs.
Barnes and Gerard, in their route through ancient Bactriana ; Col. Swiney
of Kurnal has also been successful in collecting and examining, and we
may therefore soon hope to have the subject thoroughly elucidated. Such
coins as were in the Society's cabinet, I have already depicted in the se-
venteenth volume of the Researches, to illustrate the learned remarks of
Mr. Wilson, which should be perused by those who are now eager to pro-
• Trans. Roy. As. Soc. i. 314.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
38 On the Greek Coins in the [Jan.
secute the inquiry. I have introduced into the present plate a few of
the same figures, with a view to shew the general appearance of these
curious coins.
Fig. 17. — Is taken from a cast made from the sealing wax impres-
sion of a gold coin found at Manikyala by Gen. Ventura.
Obverse. A standing figure with right-arm outstretched, and a kind
of glory round the head : letters not decypherable.
Reverse. Figure of a warrior holding a spear in the right-hand, and
apparently (from comparison with more perfect speci-
mens of a similar coin) presenting an offering on an
altar : the name illegible.
Fig. 18. — Is a drawing made in a similar manner from another of
the Manikyala gold coins.
Obverse. The Persian head-dress and flowing hair are here appa-
rent, bat on the reverse the seated prince has rather
the Indian costume. The characters on both sides are
quite distinct, and have some similarity to Greek, but
they have not been yet interpreted. There is a curi-
ous symbol upon all this class of coins, resembling a
grid-iron or key, with sometimes three sometimes four
prongs.
Messrs. Reinaud and Saint Martin of Paris (Journal Asiatique l&ilj read part
of the inscription on the obverse NANOBABOT .... PKIKOT, and on the reverse
MAKAOBA .... ro but nothing is gained therefrom. They ascribe the coin to
Greek or Asiatic Princes who inherited the authority of Alexander's successors hi the
countries watered by the Indus.
Fig. 19. — A small copper coin, sent to me in a letter by Dr. Gerard,
from the neighbourhood of Manikyala.
Obverse. The head of a king, with a kind of glory.
Reverse. An Equestrian figure, with the flowing ribbons of the Per-
sian diadem : the characters are here decidedly Greek,
and appear to form the usual title of 0o*t\*ms /BartAmr.
Fig. 20. — Is a copper coin resembling the last, procured by myself
at Benares.
The greater portion of the coins found at Aftmstyaisare stated by Lieut. Buroes,
to whom a copy of the plates of Mr. Wilson's Essay was sent by dak, to hare figures
of a Rqja dressed in a tunic sacrificing on an altar, on the obverse ; and a figure
standing by a bull on the reverse (As. Res. xvii. pi. ii. figs. 26 to 30) : others are found
with the impress of an elephant, and a kind of dagger (a female figure ?) But as the
inscriptions on these are rather Indian than Greek f have not included them in die
present collection, and beg to refer the reader to the Asiatic Researches and to Col,
Tod's Essay.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
I] Cabinet of the Asiatic Society.
39
Muhammedan Coinage of Persia.
To complete the sketch of Persian coins, it seems necessary to offer a
few brief remarks on the coinage of the Muhammedan powers which suc-
seeded the Sassanian dynasty,
At the period of the promulgation of the religion of Muhammed, the
money of the lower Roman empire was current in all the neighbouring
countries, and it was not until the Khalifat of Abd-ul-malek, in the year
oftheH#Va76 (a. d. 695), according to Marsden, that a distinct coinage
was instituted with a view of superseding the currency of Greek, or
Byzantine, and Persian, gold and silver.
The circumstances that led to this event are thus detailed by the
Arabian writers. — " The Khalif having adhered to the practice of com-
B«wmg his epistles, addressed to the Greek Emperor, with the Mus-
sulman formulary sentence, declaring the unity of the Godhead, and the
ministry of the prophet ; the Christian monarch took offence at what
appeared to him an insult, and threatened that if it were persisted in,
be should retaliate by introducing into the inscriptions on his coinage,
with a view to its being circulated throughout the dominions of the for-
mer, words not likely to be acceptable to the professors of Islamism*."
Thin impolitic contention produced the effect that; might have been
expected, and Abd-ul-malek determined to be beforehand with him in
blazoning the creed of the faithful upon a new coin of his own fabrica-
tion, and he procured the ablest artisans from Damascus to cut the
dies. Many of the first Muhammedans were however scandalized at air
lowing the sacred name of God to be profaned by the contact of impure
The names of the Arabic pieces of money are uniformly inserted in
their marginal legend, and are all taken from the coins of the lower Roman
empire. Thus the copper piece was called {j^ 3 felus from follis ; the
silver f*j& dirhem, from drachma, and the gold coin J^i^ dinar, from
denarius, which though properly a silver coin, was used generally to
denote coins of other metals, as the denarius oris and the denarius auri,
or aureus.
The Society's cabinet does not possess any of the early Muhammedan
coins; but one brought by Lieut. Conolly from Persia (fig. 16, PL II.)
will serve as a general specimen of all those of the Ommiah and Abbas
Khalifa. They contain the date and place of fabrication, but not the
name of the prince. The coins of the Samanian dynasty in Persia dif-
fer but little in appearance ; but they bear the name of the sovereign
under that of the prophet. The Sultans of the Seljuk dynasty, who
• Manden's Numismata Orientalia xvi.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
40 On the Greek^Coins in the [Jak.
arrested the whole of Asia Minor from 'the* Empire in /the 11th century,
Btruck the emblem of the sun in the constellation of the lion upon the
obverse of their coin, and these devices have^since becwnae well known
as the chivalric order of distinction in Persia < its origin is referred by
Marshman to the horoscope of Gheat-ud-din*Kai Khusmi, who began
to reign in 1236. The earliest mention of it is in Tavernier's Travels,
1676. The kings of the Turkman or Ortokite dynasty, m the 13th
century, ihtrodueed^heads On their coin in imitation of the Syro-Mace-
ddirian kings, ^notwithstanding the supposed prejudice of the, faithful
against such devices. The Persian term shdh, rex, . occurs for the
firsttime on the coin of Kutb-ud-dtn Gkdst/A. h. 580. The-coins of
this period are so irregular, that Christian marks and names are some-
times visible on them : signs of the zodiac were also frequently intro-
duced. The' Fatimke dynasty restored the .primitive femv and polity
of the Kufic inscriptions. Their coins hara generally mote than o**e
concentric circle of inscription.' They also exhibit the several lbcalitiea
of Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily. . " • , ' t ; ;, -
The coins of the Il-Khanian or Moghul dynasty of Persia are known
by the title of Kaan, Khan, and Sultan Ahzem, in connection with the
name of the sovereign. . The writing is generally contained ,in, an, prna-t
mental or scalloped frame, such as is now common in the 4Qin*r<>£
Persia, Nipal, and other oriental countries.
These very general remarks will be sufficient to afford a clue to the
classification of the coins of Persia, when the legend may not be
sufficiently legible to determine them : the subject has been most ably
expounded by Mr. Marsden, in the work already quotedfcom; and to it
all must refer who would pursue this branch of numismatic study.
; Fig. HS.-^A silve* coin of the Khalifs of the second: century of the
• ' Hejra, bearing on the area of the, obverse the usual
formula in the Kunc, character :
Jl iJJ] J tfon est Deus prater
»da^imi Deumunicum
UsJLX>j£l cui non est socirn.
• . In a circle around which is inscribed
In nomine- Dei cusa est h*c drachma in Wasit. Anne 129, nono
et vicesbno et centesimo. (a, n. 746.)
On the reverse it has the usual inscription.
4J)j<JaU) Devsimus,Deus
Digitized by
Google
Jsurn As. Sec. VolH. PIE.
iPi.n.
PERSIAN COW®
tArsakian,
J il/u4«-rv xjjj ±T*tP j^ u^a» M±n£J
C a->-Jcj_OJ->-CT 3 inb^l j\j\^-fsJ
!»■
JPtmup. dd
tCasinath, Sculfu.
Digitized by VjOOQIC
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites. 41
fJjtXb^d^l) at emus t non gignit, et
i^i^J *^yi **» generatur et non
ddJ )jiS*J ex compar unus.
On the margin it has a quotation from the Koran (Sura ix. 33.)
Muhammed est Ugatus Dei, qui misit eum cum doctrine
et religione vera, quo earn extblleret super religiones omnes
si vel refragarentur associates.
In Hattenberg's Nuwtismata Orientalia are described several coins of the
same age, the nearest in point of date is one of 126 Hij. (a. d. 743.)
Merwan, the son of Mohammed, &c. and 14th in descent from Ommiah,
came to the Khalifat in a. h. 127 ; and was killed in 132, being the
last Khalif of that race.
Wasit, the town at which the coin was struck, was so called, says the
suae authority, from being half-way (middle) between Basra and
Kola, it was built by Ibn-Gjuzf in 75 Hij. and remained the seat of
the Khalifs and of the coinage until the Abbasidse succeeded to the
Ommian Khalifs, when the capital was established at Mohamadiah (or
Bagdad) as proved by coins struck in the year 137 Hijra.
In the third volume of the Gleanings, Plate XXIII. are depicted four
Persian gold coins, also brought from Persia by Lieut. Conolly, which
appear to belong to the Seljuk dynasty. In fig. 3, the words ul-malek
are legible, but it requires some experience in the Kufic character to
decypher the remainder.
IV.— Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites. /
Observations by Walter Ewer, Esq. at Chaprah.
Mann time. Diflference from Nautical Ahnanac.
h. m. «. A. m. «•
4th December. Em. I. Sat. at 8 46 34 5 38 50
3£ ft. achrom. Tr ought on. power 80 — capital observation,
5th Em. II. Sat. at 7 18 51 5 39 27
same telescope, not so good, noon being too bright.
20th Em. I. Sat. at 7 7 43 5 38 59
5 ft. achrom. Troughton, clear and good.
27th Em. I. Sat. at 9 4 7.5 5 39 14.5
same telescope, rather hazy.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
iJ A method of preparing Strychnia. [Jam.
V.— A method of preparing Strychnia. By J. T. Pearson, Esq. Assistant
Surgeon.
The enormous price of 120 rupees having been paid at the HonTrfe
Company's Dispensary for a single half ounce of strychnia ; it became
my duty to attempt to prepare it, by a process, more expeditious and
less expensive, than that recommended in the formulary of Magendie* ;
and which, at the same time, should be equal to the demands made upon
the department. I hope tkit both these objects have been effected by
the following method :
Infuse a determined quantity of Nux Vomica in boiling distilled
water, until it becomes soft ; take it from the liquid, bruise it coarsely
in a large metal mortar, and treat it with successive infusions of boil-
ing distilled water, till it becomes nearly tasteless. Strain the liquids,
and having mingled them together, boil with calcined magnesia for half
an hour, and collect the precipitate upon a filter of fine muslin. When
the precipitate has become free from the liquid, wash it gently, twice,
as it lies on the filter, with cold distilled water, and afterwards dry it
upon a water bath.
Treat the precipitate, dried as above-mentioned, with successive por-
tions of boiling alcohol, sp. g. .838, or stronger, until it becomes
quite exhausted, then mix the whole of the filtered alcoholic liquid, and
evaporate in a water bath, till a thick crust forms upon the surface ; set it
aside to crystallize for twelve hours ; pour off the mother waters, and
collect and dry the strychnia upon filtering paper.
In this state, the strychnia is in small, but by no means microscopic,
irregular crystals, of a light-brown colour ; and it may be purified by
redissolving and re-crystallizing it in boiling alcohol, or by pouring
over it portions of rectified aether.
• The following is the process given by Magendie. " Add a solution of liquid
subacetate of lead to a solution of alcoholic extract of the Nux Vomica in water,
until no more precipitate be thrown down ; the foreign matters being thus separat-
ed the strychnine remains in solution, with a portion of colouring matter, and
sometimes an excess of acetate of lead. Separate the lead by sulphuretted hydrogen,
nitrate it, and boil with magnesia, which will unite with the acetic acid, and preci-
pitate the strychnine. Wash the precipitate in cold water, redissolve it in alcohol,
to separate the excess of magnesia, and by evaporating the alcohol, the strychnine
is obtained in a state of purity. If it be still not perfectly white, it must he rafas-
solved in acetic or hydrochloric acid, and reprecipitated by means of magnesia."
To prepare the alcoholic extract, the Nux Vomica must be rasped and exhausted
by repeated macerations in alcohol, which must then be evaporated ; a process the
tediousness of which can only be duly appreciated by those who have tried it, and
which it was my object to avoid.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18310 Asiatic Society. 43
By the foregoing process, sixty-five grains of strychnia were obtained
from four pounds of Nux Vomica, at a cost of three rupees : a saving
at the rate of more than two hundred rupees upon a single ounce. It
was much purer than that purchased, as mentioned in the beginning of
this paper ; and a dose of half a grain, given to rabbits, killed one
in a minute and half ; and another in five minutes ; whilst a small dog,
after having taken a grain and half fell in fourteen minutes and half, <
and died at the end of twenty-five. The delay in the death of the se-
cond rabbit, which did not take place until a second dose was in the act
of being administered, may perhaps be attributed to the strychnia
having been given in crystals instead of in powder; a state in which
the difficulty of its solubility in watery secretions would of course be
greatly increased. After this, I need scarcely add, that strychnia, like
arsenic, morphia, corrosivb sublimate, and other strong poisons,
should never be given but in solution ; it being impossible in any other
manner accurately to measure the dose.
tfo/e.— I wish it to be understood, that for the foregoing process I do not
lay any claims to originality. I may however mention that beyond a knowledge
that Robiquet's process for morphia had been pursued with strychnia, the details
of which I have not met with, it is new to me. Should you think the subject wor-
thy of attention, I propose to give you, in a future paper, my views of the rationale
of the process, together with the results of more extended trials now going on under
»y superintendence at the Hon'ble Company's Dispensary.
VI. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, 9th January, 1833.
The Hon'ble Sir Edward Ryan, President, in the chair.
After reading the Proceedings of the last regular meeting and of the
special meeting of the 19th December, the Society proceeded to ballot for
the officers of the ensuing year, when Sir C. T. Metcalfe, Bart., Sir John
Franks, and the Rev. Principal Mill were elected Vice-Presidents.
Mr. James Prinsep was unanimously elected Secretary.
The Rev. Dr. Carey, Mr. J. Calder, Mr. J. Tytler, Rev. Mr. Proctor,
Baboo Ram Comul Sen, Mr. J. R. Colvin, Mr. D, Hare, and Dr. J. Pearson,
were elected Members of the Committee of Papers.
Mr. Clemiahaw and Baboo Radhacant Deb, proposed at the last meeting,
were elected Members.
The Hon'ble Sir R. W. Horton, Governor of Ceylon, proposed at the
kst meeting by Mr. Wilson, seconded by Mr. J. Prinsep, was upon the
favourable report of the Committee of Papers, unanimously elected an
Honorary Member.
Sir Benjamin Malkin, Recorder of Penang, was proposed by the Pre-
•Ment, seconded by Mr. Prinsep, as an Honorary Member, and referred to
the Committee of Papers.
Q 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
44 Asiatic Society. [Jaw.
Upon the Report of the Native Secretary, that since the retirement of
Mr. Colebrooke, in the year 1830, from the office of Agent to the Society
in England, no new appointment had taken place ; it was resolved, that a
letter be written to Mr. Wilson, requesting him to act as Agent, and to
take charge of any property or money belonging to the Society in England .
Upon the suggestion of the 8ecretary,it was resolved, that an extract from
the Proceedings of this Society, containing the Address presented to Mr. H.
H. Wilson, by the Society, on the occasion of his departure from India, and
his reply, be printed to accompany the Seventeenth Volume, of Researches,
just published under his superintendence.
Read a letter from H. M. Parker, Esq. Officiating Secretary to Govern-
ment, announcing, that Government had complied with the application lor
freight to England of 100 copies of the Seventeenth Volume of the Researches.
The accounts of the past year were submitted, exhibiting the following
Balance in the Society's favor on the 31st December, 1832.
RECEIPTS.
By Balance on the lit May, 11,242 4 9
By Collections to the 31st
Dec since paid in to
Mackintosh & Co 6,131 110
By Legacy of £2000, left
by Will of thelateC.K.
Brace, with interest, reed.
from Cruttenden & Co. 25,037
42,410 6 7
PAYMENTS.
To Cash drawn from Mac-
kintosh & Co. since 1st
May, 5,625 11 11
To Purchase of Govt. Loan,
Rs. 25,000, lodged with
the Govt. Agents, .... 25,386 14 2
Balance with Mackintosh
and Co 11,397 12 6
42,410 £
The Balance 11,397 12 6 is unfortunately involved in the fiulure of Messrs.
Mackintosh and Co.
The sums due by the Society are as follows :
To the Military Orphan Press, for Seventeenth Volume of Re-
searches, 4,286 14
Mr. J. Prinsep's Bill, for Plates of the Physical Transactions, House
Repairs, &c, passed by the Committee of Papers, 1,023 15 1
Establishment for December, and sundries, 249
Total, Rs. 5,559 13 1
Rtmlvcd, that the accounts be referred to the Committee of Papers, to
determine upon the best mode of liquidating the present demands.
Museum.
1. Read a letter from the Private Secretary to the Right Honlrie Sir
B. W. Horton, forwarding two antique coins for examination.
£. Three small Buddha images, presented by Baboo Ram Comul Sen,
in the name of Mr. Wilson.
3. Specimens of Coal from the Kasya Hills, presented by Mr. Crncroft
Some hundred maunda of this Coal have lately been sent on trial to the Calcutta
Mint, where it has been found of a quality £sr superior to any from the Burdwan
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Jiktk Society. 45
Ot&eriss, far Eagiae and Reverberatory furnaces, in the ratio of 5 to 4, The
f^ptaH ^ of tfce Coal tried at the Assay Office, was,
Volatile matter or gas, 38.5
Carbon or coke, 60.7
Esrthy impurities or ash, . . 0.8
100.0
The ash is wonderfully small : specific gravity of the Coal 1.275.
4. Specimens of the Sandstone of Sikrigali, with vegetable impressions
of ferns, &c by Dr. Langstaff.
a The sandstone appears to correspond with that from Chira Punji with vege-
table remains. This rock forms the bluff termination of the ridge immediately
adjoining the river: below it, and I believe interstrstified with it, is the perfectly
korixoaUl stratum of silicious schist with impressions of ferns and mosses, and
apparently the remains of shells.
w In the same situation are blocks of the hornblende rock, and basalt, abounding
from Moaghyr to RajmahaL Although the trap formation is contiguous to the
stadstooe, the latter does not seem to have undergone any disturbance of its hori-
sontal position, which would argue its formation to be more recent than the trap."
5. A letter from Dr. Spilsbury, announcing the dispatch of a specimen of
fossil bone from Jabalpur.
Library.
A copy of his work on the " Muhammedan Law of Inheritance/' present-
ed by N. B. £. Baillie, Esq.
Ditto, of the 2nd edition of Wilson's Sanscrit and English Dictionary, by
the author.
Asa* a letter from M. Bornouf, the Secretary, forwarding the follow-
ing works from the Asiatic Society of Paris :
Bnrnonf s Vendidad Sadi, parts 5th to 9th.
n, — Almanach Philanthropique, 1 vol.
r and Ruts, — Tableau d'Elemens Vocaux de rEcriture Chinoise.
Brosset Jeuae, — Chronique Georgienne, 1 vol.
Deskwgchamp's M antra Dharma Sastra, 3rd part.
A. L. Chesy's Sacountala, 1 vol
The following Books from the Book-sellers.
Niebuhr's History of Rome, 2nd voL
Lardner s Cabinet Cyclopedia; — the United States, 2nd voL
Literary.
A Paper on the Origin and Classification of the Military Tribes of Nipal >
by B. H. Hodgson, Esq.
A Note by the same gentleman, on the Law and Legal Practice of Nipal,
m matters of adultery or connection between a Hindoo and an outcast
Note on the Ceylon Coin*, by the Secretary.
The two coins transmitted by His Excellency, the Governor of Cey-
lon, belong to the class described by Mr. Wilson, in the seventeenth
volume of the Researches, and depicted in Plate V. figure 109 to 113,
which are stated, like the present coins, to have been found by Colonel
Digiti
zed by G00gle
46 Miscellaneous. [Jaj»*
Mackenzie at Dipaldinna. No. 3, according almost exactly with the pre-
sent copper coin, " is a drawing of one found at Kandya in Ceylon."
Mr. Wilson does not attempt to explain them further, than they
evidently belong to a Hindoo dynasty, either on the island of Ceylon,
or in the south of the peninsula. The letters are distinctly Hindi in
all, although it is difficult to make out their purport. The word " Srf*
is also evident in all of them.
Detcription.
No. 1. A gold coin, weighing 60 grains.
Obverse. A male figure, seated in the Indian manner, with dhoti.
Left hand raised, and face looking to the left : on the
side, the Nagari characters *ft ^# ^C, Sri Lankeswar ?
Reverse. A rude standing figure, with a flowing robe, right hand
extended over two emblems ^ ±
Left hand supporting a crown or globe ? Beneath a scroll, with cir-
cles or flowers on the right.
No. 2. A copper coin, very similar, but more rude. The inscrip-
tion on the obverse is, ^t *^T ^HTO, Srig nya dy mth?
On the reverse, the standing figure as before.
In Davy's Ceylon, page 245, will oe found a drawing of an antique gold
coin, called a Dambadinia Rhatra (rhatra, gold), which was found in the
neighbourhood of Dambadinia, in the Seven Korles, a place of royal resi-
dence (no doubt identical with Dipaldinna of Col. Mackenzie.) The
drawing of this coin is precisely similar to those of Plate V. and to the
one now before the Society, and so is the copper coin alluded to by Davy
as the Dambadinia chally (chally, means copper.)
Davy does not seem to have comprehended either the device or the
characters on his coin, for he has reversed the engraving of the side
bearing the inscription, and he supposes both to be mere hieroglyphics.
To an eve accustomed to such objects, however, the standing and sitting
figures are very evident, as are the Nagari characters, although their
purport is not so clear : indeed, of the half dozen, to which we can
now refer, no two seem to bear the same name, nor are we acquainted
sufficiently with the ancient history of Ceylon, to be able to fill up the
doubtful names on the coins from any well certified list of princes of the
Hindu dynasties in Ceylon of the Soorea-wansi for Surj-banstJ race.
VII . — Miscellaneous.
l.—Hot-8prmg at Pachete. By C. Betts, Esq.
As a correspodent of the Journal is desirous of knowing the localities of any hot-
springs met with in India, I beg to put on record this notice of one found by me
in the river Damuda, near the Tantotya village, and about six miles distant from the
Ifeehete hills. In the cold season, when the river is very low the thermometer plung-
ed into it rose to 190° Farh. The spring is slightly chalybeate.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Miscellaneous. 47
l-Zxtr*ordinary Banyan Tree at Kulow Nagty Hatty, nearBhuoma Naik Droog.
in the territory of Mysore.
This tree assumes to the traveller's eye the appearance of a very beautiful grove,
which in reality it is.
The centre tree is about fifty or sixty feet in height, and its branches cover an area
of leventy-six yards in one direction, and eighty-eight in the other, while the drops
tow dependent from, or rather supporting, its gigantic branches, amount in number
to one hundred and twenty-one, of which some are of enormous size. The place
ahibits on all sides vast branches, broken off, which have been evidently once con-
nected with thirty trees, now disunited from the centre stock ; but the original con-
nexion can still be sufficiently traced to render unnecessary the testimony of the
onagers, who state that they and their fathers have been in the habit of disuniting
these trees by separating the intermediate parts for the construction of solid cart
wheels, for which, from their size, they are well suited. On measuring the trans-
verse diameters of the whole area, they were found to contain more than 100 yards
each way. This single tree thus affording a circle of foliage and shade exceeding
300 English yards in circumference.
3. — Discovery of the Silhet Coal Mines.
Mr. James Stark discovered, early in 1815, some coal mines on the lower hills of
Silhet, and worked them sufficiently deep to send down samples to the Government
through Mr. Dacosta. By directions from Mr. A. Trotter, then Secretary, Public De-
partment, about 50 maunds were sent to the foundery in Fort William, the same
quantity to the gun-carriage yard at Cossipore, and an equal quantity was tried in
the Mint, as also 25 maunds at Mr. Jessop's. The reports on these samples proving
favorable, Mr. Stark submitted proposals for supplying Government with coals, at
1 rupee 8 annas per maund,to any extent required, of the quality of the samples sent,
and even superior ; these being declined, he next obtained the indulgence of Govern-
ment to import into Calcutta duty-free, for five years. The first thousand maunds
having arrived in Calcutta, and remaining on hand unsold, he abandoned the mines.
5. — Questions proposed by the Burmese Heir Apparent.
" Hie Philosopher Burmese Prince is an extraordinary man. He is self-taught,
and although of naturally good talents, he is very timid, and much alarmed that
bis turn for scientific subjects should be known to the King and Ministers. A
gentleman who has also a turn that way, and has seen him frequently, declares him
to be a wonderful man, and if in any other country but this, where he could with-
out fear follow the bent of his mind, he would soon prove himself a person of su-
perior acquirements. He is anxiously looking out for a Comet that is to appear
this month, and which I believe by the calculations of some French Astronomer is
to destroy the earth. He has a very good Telescope — a Thermometer — a Barome-
ter — a Stomach Pump, and I believe an Air Pump— all of which he is obliged to
keep shut up. Subjoined are some questions put by him to a gentleman here, which
it is hoped some one may be able to solve for his satisfaction.
1st. He has observed, that the last three Comets have appeared in the same sign
m the heavens, that the Moon's node was in at the time j is this accidental, or has
the node any connection with Comets ?
2nd. On what data does Sir Isaac Newton found his hypothesis of the heat of a
Comet being 900 times greater than that of red-hot iron ?
3rd. Is not the height of the atmosphere increased at new and full moon in the
same manner that the waters of the ocean are raised, but to a much greater extent?.
If so why does not the Barometer indicate it by rising ?"
Digiti
zed by G00gle
48 Progress of European Science. [Jam.
VIII. — Progress of European Science.
PRACTICAL ASTRONOMY.
Under this head may be comprehended all proceedings intended to bring' as
better acquainted with the phenomena of the heavenly bodies through the medium
of observation and experiment : — the labours of astronomers in their observatories ;
the construction of new instruments ; of new tables to facilitate calculations ; of
new maps of the heavens, &c. to which may be added pendulum experiments and
the various geodetical operations on a grand scale, destined to the determination
of the earth's figure. Of the latter branch of our subject, we have on a former oc-
casion taken a cursory review, adverting to the survey now in progress in our own
neighbourhood. In our last number also we anticipated the present notice by in-
serting an abstract of the contents of the new Nautical Almanac, which itself marks
the progress of astronomical science, by the new wants that it is found necessary
to supply to the practical astronomer to save the waste of his time in intricate cal-
culations. We will now advert to the increased means set at work in the world for
the pursuit of this noble and heart expanding-study, taking as our guide the annual
reports of the president of the Astronomical Society : for in the present day, thanks
to the systematic division of the sciences among their proper societies, informa-
tion on each separate branch can be obtained at once without spending much time
In searching through scattered notices in journals of general science.
Mr. South, in his address on the anniversary of February, 1830, congratulated
the Society on the prosperous appearance of the astronomical horizon. He attri-
buted with justice to the influence of the institution over which he presided, a part
of the unusual activity prevalent, as well abroad as at home, in prosecuting obser-
vations, and in perfecting the theories and tables of celestial phenomena.
He noticed the establishment of no less than two new observatories endowed by
the British Government : one at the Cape of Good Hope, under the Rev. Mr. Fal-
lowb ; the other, the Paramatta Observatory, originally founded by Sir Thomas
Brisbane in New South Wales, now converted into a permanent public institu-
tion. The East India Company had been equally active : they had remodelled their
observatory at Madras, furnishing it with new instruments and appointing to the charge
of them Mr. Taylor, an experienced astronomer from the Greenwich Observa-
tory. An attempt had before been made to found an observatory at Bombay, which
had tailed through the bad management of the astronomer nominated there. At
the anniversary of last February, the same illustrious president noticed the founda-
tion of another observatory by the Company, in the Island of St Helena, under the
charge of Mr. Johnson : and pmri pauu, the British Government had presented a
3$ feet transit, by Troughton, and other valuable instruments, to the private ob-
servatory of M. Dabaoib, on the Island of Mauritius, whither also a number of ex-
cellent instruments had been carried by Captain Lloyd, Surveyor General to the
colony. Monsieur Dabadib's observations on the Comet of 1830 have brought
this well-merited reward, not to himself alone, but generally to the sealous exer-
tions of this scientific little island, which can boast of more than its due proportion
of naturalists and literary men. Astronomy is well adapted to be the study of aa
insulated quiet seat of contemplation like this isle, or St Helena, and some ques-
tions of great practical importance, such as that of the refraction on the oceasit
horiaon, might here be more successfully investigated than any where else.
Digitized by
Google
r8W.] Progress of European Science. 49
Captain Kisro, R. N. also is mentioned at proceeding to New Sooth Wales, pro-
vided with superior instruments for his own use.
Here is s goodly list of the astronomical emissaries from our own island, and
jet it ia doubtless full of omissions : for the amateurs must be more, numer-
sss is this than in any other science. Nothing of course wss yet known in Eng-
kmd of the appointment of Captain Hbsbest as astronomer to the Kino of Oude.
From the magnificence conspicuous in all oriental undertakings, we may safely
, that the Luckaow Observatory will become a richly endowed esta-
f if the life of the founder be spared to complete it. We cannot pause to
follow the list of illustrious obserrera enumerated in Great Britain itself, at Cam-
bridge, Dublin, Greenwich, Kew, London, and Edinburgh : nor of those on the con-
tinent, where the activity of the new observatories of Brussels, Cadis, Cracow, and
Genera, are stated to be already rivalling the older establishments of Paris, Berlin,
Moscow, Florence, and Vienna. Now let ua see what has been produced at these rival
observatories, for that is the best way to judge of their relative and positive merits.
The Greenwich Observatory has lately issued s catalogue of 720 stare ; selected and
reduced from the catalogue formerly published by the Astronomical Society. This
fundamental catalogue has now reached a degree of accuracy unexampled in astro-
aosnical history, and bids fair to preserve the credit of " the British Catalogue' 1 of
the good old times of Flam stead.
The Paris Observatory seems to have been dormant for a long time. A new
transit and a splendid equatorial by Gamdey have once more set it in activity, and
an excellent rule of the Institute has imposed upon the superintendent the necessity
of newer being more thsn s year behind hand in publishing the results of his labours.
Professor Bkssel has been employed upon pendulum investigations, and has come
to the mortifying conclusion, that the corrections employed by British experimen-
talists are by no means correct ! Mr. Francis Baily also has demonstrated the ex-
istence of certain imperfections in the apparatus which point out the necessity of
fresh inquiries before the standards of weights and measures, upon which such care
has already been spent, can be considered as finally settled !
P ro fess or En exs has entitled himself u much to the gratitude of astronomers in
general, as to the medal so justly awarded him by the Astronomical Society, for the
Berts* Ephemerii, which bears his name. While the Nautical Almanac has been
gradually retrograding, snd the C ot m oin onc e dee tons stationary, the Berlin Almanac
has suddenly stept in advance of both, and so full are its contents, and so excellent its
arrangement, that, as Mr. South says, " with itan observatory scarcely wants a sin-
gle book ; without it, every one." The new Nautical Almanac will be one of the
fruits for which we are indebted to Encks's example, and we hope it may prove,
according to the President's promise, " as superior to Enckk's, ss Encks's is now
superior to it."
The Royal Academy at Berlin has carried into complete effect its plan for s mi-
nute survey of the heaven, and for the formation of a new set of celestial charts.
Three portions of this useful and valuable undertaking are already published : viz,
the 10th hour in AR by professor GontL of Coburg, the 14th hour by the Rev. T. J.
Hvssbt of Chialeburst, snd the 18th hour by Padre Giovanni Inohibami of
Florence, and M. Capocci of Naples. The catalogues contain a list of all the stars
(reduced to the year 1800) within 15 9 of the equator down to the 10th magnitude :
and when complete, will be a most valuable acquisition to the practical astronomer.
Of the labours of one member of our own Royal Observatory, we must take a fuller
review : w* allude to those of Mr. Richasdson on the constant of aberration.
zed by G00gle
50 Progress of European Science. [J Air -
In extracting for this purpose the words of Mr. South's address ori presenting
the author with the gold medal, we are in met giving a most luminous and inter-
esttng review of theTiistory of this subject, so closely connected with the demon-
stration of the Copernican system.
" Three hundred years hare now elapsed since Copernicus proposed to the woria
that system which bears his name ; and if we except the Ubours of Tycho »**"»
who, besides a catalogue of 800 stars, made attempts to determine the altitude of
the pole-star at different seasons of the year, little was done by practical observa-
tion to support or refute the ideas of Copernicus till the time of Galileo. Ob-
servations of the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites induced him to propose them as a
means of determining differences of longitude, whilst his discovery of the phases of
Venus removed a serious objection to the truth of the Copernican system, and
which Copernicus himself predicted would be removed, though he had not the
means of doing so himself. About the year 1665, Huyoens, by his invention of
the pendulum clock, gave to astronomical observations an accuracy hitherto un-
known ; and Cabsini, by means of the excellent glasses of Campani, accumulated
a vast mass of observations of the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, and deduced from
them tables whereby astronomers could predict their occurrence.
"Notwithstanding the powerful arguments advanced in its favour, the
Copernican hypothesis was not generally embraced ; for in the year 1669, nearly
a century and a half subsequent to its promulgation by Copernicus, even the
celebrated Hook, to use his own words, « would not absolutely declare for
it*.' To settle the matter, therefore, this extraordinary man, feeling that
the instruments of Tycho, although magnificent beyond all others, were,
from the nature of their construction, and from their being unprovided
with telescopic sights, incompetent to detect minute alterations of sidereal
positions, and knowing that the laws which governed refraction were so little un-
derstoodf as to render all observations in which that element was materially in-
volved, liable to errors greater probably than the quantities he was in search of;
invented the xenith sector. It was erected at Gresham College, and consisted of a
telescope, 36 feet long, a divided arc, and a plumb-line. The star selectedfor observa-
tion, and with reference to which, indeed, his instrument was entirely construct-
ed was one which passed within two or three minutes of the zenith of Gresham
College ; it was visible in the day-time throughout the year, and was y Draconis : by
observing its zenith distance when the earth was in opposite points of her orbit, he
found (as he erroneously concluded) a sensible parallax, amounting to about 20
seconds, and, consequently, determined that the Copernican system was the true
" In the mean time, the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites, thanks to the facilities of
predicting them, afforded by Cassini's tables, had been assiduously observed ; and
in the year 1675, the discordances found between the predicted and the observed
eclipses enabled the celebrated Roemer to demonstrate that light was not inatanta-
neously propagated, and that the discordances between the tables and the observa-
tions might be considered as the measure of its velocity.
" The year of Roemer's discovery was further marked by another epoch in astro-
nomical history, namely, the foundation of tlje Royal Observatory. Flamstead,
* An attempt to prove the motion of the-earth from observations made dy Robert
Hooee,F. R.S. pp. 5 and 7.
+ Idem, pp. lOandll.
% Idem, p. 25.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Progress of European Science. 51
with ab moral quadrant, detected a change of place in the pole-star, amounting to
35, 4ft, or 45 seconds, attributed it to parallax, and regarded it as confirmatory of
Hook's d isc overy. Indeed, the obserrations of Hook, as well as of those who
preceded him, although nominally in search of parallax, had for their object little
die than the confirmation or verification of the Copernican system ; and this arriv-
ed at, there seems to bare been but little disposition to repeat them.
M Hence it was that the brilliant discoveries of Nbwton having placed the accuracy
of the Copernican system beyond all possibility of doubt, the investigation of
parallax was not resumed till the latter end of November, in the year 1725, at
which time Moltnbux erected his 24-feet zenith sector, by Graham, in his ob-
•erratory at Kew*. ' On the 3rd of December, y Draconu was, for the first time,
obserred is it passed near the zenith, and its situation carefully taken with the
instrument ; and again, on the 5th, 11th, and 12th, when, no material change in
the star's place having been detected, further observations seemed needless, since it
wss s time of the year when no sensible alteration of parallax could soon be ex-
pected.* Bbadlky, however, being on a visit to his friend Molynxvx, was
' tempted by curiosity to repeat the observation on the 17th, and perceived the
star pass a little more southerly than when it had been observed before :' suspect-
ing that the apparent change of place might be owing to erroneous observation, it
vat observed again on the 20th,and he found the star still farther south than in the
preceding observations. This sensible alteration surprised himself and Moltnbux,
m at Bach as it was the contrary way from which it would have been, had it pro-
ceeded from an annual parallax of the star ; but being incapable of accounting for
it by want of exactness in the observations, and having no notion of any other
cause from which such apparent motion could proceed, they suspected that some
change in the materials of the instrument itself might have occasioned it. Under
this apprehension, they remained some time, but being at length fully convinced, by
repeated trials, of the great exactnesss of the instrument, and finding, by the gra*»
danl increase of the star's distance from the pole, that there 4 must be some regular
i which produced it, they examined nicely at the time of each observation how
i it was; and about the beginning of March, 1726, the star was found to be 2tf'
more southerly than at the time of the first observation. It now, indeed, seemed
to have arrived at its utmost limit southward ; for in several observations made
•bout this time, no sensible difference could be detected in its situation. By the
middle of April, it appeared to be returning towards the north, and about the be-
ginning of June, it passed at the same distance from the zenith as it had done in
December, when it was first observed. From the quick change in the star's de-
clination about this time (it increasing a second in three days), they concluded that
U would now proceed northward, as it before had gone southward of its present
•itasiion ; and it happened as was conjectured ; for it continued to move north-
ward tul September following, when it again became stationary, being then near
W more northerly than in June, and no leas than 39" more northerly than it had
b*a in March. From September, it returned towards the south, till it arrived, in
December, at the very same situation it had been at that time twelve months, al-
ktiag Cor the difference of declination ' on account of the precession of the
•qmaox.'
"Such is a brief history of the Kew observations ; commenced, indeed, for the
determination of sensible parallax, but which, as subsequently in the hands of Her-
* Philosophical Transactions, vol. xxxv. p. 639.
H 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$% Progress of European Science. £Jjl* .
schel, led to a very different result. In reading it, we are at a loss whether asms*
to admire the mode in which the observations irere conducted, or the mode* ma-
assuming manner in which they are recorded : no possible source of error is attend-
ed to pass without the most rigid examination—no theory suffered to embarrass
the observers in their observations ; the slightest anomaly became the subject of
suspicion, till in presumed anomaly Was found the most perfect regularity.
" That observations so conducted, leading to results so unexpeeted,could be aban-
doned till the law which governed them should be unfolded, was impossible. B«t
Bradley rejected all inquiries into the cause till the effects were accurately deter-
mined ; and feeling that the apparent motion was obtained by observations only of
one year — by one instrument — and by one star,— he erected at Wanstead, aided by
his friend Graham, on the 19th of August, 1727, his zenith sector of 12§ feet
focus, formed, indeed, upon the same general plan of Molyneux's, but furnished
with a divided arc of 6| degrees on each side of the zenith point, for the purpose
of enabling him to ascertain, by direct observation, whether other stars than y
DraconU would lie similarly affected. The instrument's situation, when adjusted,
1 might be securely depended upon to half a second/ and its telescope could be
directed to 'not less than 12 stars, bright enough to be seen in the day-time,'
throughout the year : the same changes were observed as had been p r ev ious ly de-
tected with Molyneux's instrument. Inflexible, however, in bis resolution net
to generalise till sufficient means were collected to lead him to a ' probably just
conclusion,' the year of probation was suffered to be completed before * the ob-
servations were examined and compared :' then it was that he satisfied himself of
the general laws of the phenomena, and then, and not till then, did he endeavour
to find out their cause. Convinced that the apparent motion of the stars which
he had observed was not owing to nutation — persuade d, that a change in the
direction of the plumb-line with which the instrument was rectified was insuffici-
ent to have occasioned it — and having appealed unsuccessfully to refraction* — he
perceived, ' that if light was propagated in time, the apparent place of a fixed object
would not be the same when the eye is at rest, as when it is moving in any other
direction than that of the line passing through the eye and the object ; and that
when the eye is moving in different directions, the apparent place of the object
would be different.' He therefore announced his discovery in these words : ' "Hist
all the phenomena proceeded from the progressive motion of light and the earth's
annual motion in its orbit,' or, as he afterwards called it, aberration of light
" But he who determined its existence determined also its constant, and fixed it
at 20" ; giving us, therefore, the interval of time in which light travels from the
sun to the earth, as eight minutes and seven seconds, differing from that «
by Roeme* nearly three minutes of time, a circumstance not at all to the du
ditof Roemer, considering the imperfect knowledge of the theory of Jvpiter'i
satellites at the time he made his important discovery.
"The observations, however, which led Bradley to the discovery of aberration,
and to the determination of its constant, being as yet unpublished, have given rise
to insinuations certainly ungenerous, and probably unjust. Impelled by more ho-
nourable feelings, our illustrious associate Bessel, alluding to the observations of
y Draconi* made by Bradley when the sector was removed to Greenwich, says*,
' Caterlun Bradelh observation** Waruteadiaiue libeferi pottunt ft seefoHf «*-
tabilttate, euum »<tpint, eodem tempore, obeervat* tint sfttte, m ewifot abe rruttmi
* Fundaments Astronomic, p. 134.
Digitized by
Google
1W3J Progrtis of European Science. 53
f se gu e.- qud de c&utd, ei propter obterveHonMm prmtt*nii*m, opta-
Jsh mtt rejwwi ipma Bradleu autoormpka,' It will, therefore, be highly grate-
fal to him, and to astronomers in general, to be informed from this chair, that the
■MMKripts. of. the Wanstead observations are found ! — that to the honour of the
Uuw ej sity of Oxford, twenty-three sheets of them are already printed ; and that
the volume will be presented to the public with as little delay as possible, under
Ike super inte nde nce of Professor Rigaud.
" Till within these few years,the constant, as determined by Bradley, was uni-
maaQy employed in all our astronomical reductions j recently, however, astrono-
sscrs hare re-investigated it. Dblambre, from the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites
ttgards it 20",25. Bessel, from Bbadlky's Obsenrstions made at the Royal Ob-
servatory, after he was appointed Astronomer Royal, has deduced for the con-
stant 20",68. Lindenau, by comparisons of Bradley's, Maseelyne'b,
Bessei/s, and Pond's observations of Polaris, has obtained for it 20",61. Brink-
let, from his own observations, considers it as 20", 37. Whilst Struve, by his
observations, draws almost the same inference, namely 20",35.
" Such were the results most entitled to our confidence, when Mr. Richardson,
in the hours allotted to him for repose or recreation, undertook those labours
which farm the subject of oar present consideration, and of which the following is
a brief outline. A second mural circle by Jones, after the model of that of
Trouqbtois's, having been erected at the Royal Observatory, in the April of 1825,
oorceaponding observations with the two instruments were carried on simultaneous-
ly ; they were confined, indeed to s few stars, but every precaution to render them
as accurate as possible was adopted. Thus, the index error of each instrument was
ascertained by observing the same star alternately, by direct vision and reflection ;
each -pair, therefore, giving to its respective instrument one horizontal point per-
fectly independent of astronomical tables, the final accuracy of the determination of
the index error being directly as the number of pairs observed. Throughout the
ohsij ii ations, the place of each star was arrived at by reference to the six micros-
copes of each circle ; care also being taken to equalise, as nearly ss possible, the tem-
perature of the observatory with that of the external air, so that errors to any ex-
tent, arising from partial expansions or erroneous divisions of the instrument, were
effectually excluded.
" Frew such unexceptionable data, fourteen stars were selected by Mr. Richard-
son as the fittest for bis purpose, being those the least affected by refraction, and the
affected by aberration, so that the errors of observation might have the ml-
mfluence upon the results. Upwards of 4000 observations he separately
and in no instance was the actual aberration of each observed star less
than 14" ; and the conclusion to which he has arrived is, from Troughton's cir-
4k, that the Constant of Aberration is 20",505 ; whilst by Jones's, it is 20",502,
the one differing from the other but three-thousandths of a second.
• " Hook* in — wfting for parallax, was misled by his instrument. Bradley, in
.detecting it was unsuccessful, but discovered aberration. Hook's instrument was
the work of his own hands ; Bradley's was the work of Graham. Sensible that
sanch of his astronomical glory was referable to the accuracy of his instrument,
the amateur astronomer of Wsnstead was ever ready to acknowledge it ; and when
we consider that one hundred years' improvement in astronomical manipulations
can alter she conatant of aberration as determined by him but one half second, we
are almost led to exclaim ' fumndo uUwm incewemus parem f
Digiti
zed by G00gle
54 Progress of European Science. [Jam.
" Our Graham is Amongst us ; to him we •re indebted for Ike instrument* wish,
which results thus important hare been obtained, and alao for the mode of using
them, through which the maximum of accuracy has been acquired. One of them,
was made with his own hands, the other under his direction ; and it is not too
much to say, that the disciple has shewn himself worthy of his master* Tne bene-
fits which Edward Trooohton has conferred on science are too well known to
need enumeration. His Majesty the King of Denmark, not insensible to die im-
portance of science, and feeling that for much of the accuracy to which astronomy
and navigation have arrived, we are indebted to the genius of our revered member,
has recently acknowledged his gratitude to him, by the presentation of his gold
medal, inscribed with the word ' Merit o.' Never was inscription more appropri-
ate. May he live long to enjoy this token of respect ! alike honourable to himself
and to the princely feelings of its royal donor.
" On looking over the constant as determined by each star, nothing definitive, as
Mr. Richardson justly observes, can be concluded, as to whether light emitted
from different stars is propagated to us with different degrees of velocity : the ides
is not irrational, but its validity future astronomers must determine."
Before concluding our imperfect sketch of what have been the labours of astro-
nomers in Europe, we must not overlook the works of our countrymen in the East
The Madras Observatory has been newly modelled, it is true ; but in its olden statt,
under the indefatigable Goldinoham, it was turned to the best purpose, as is proved
by the creditable volumes published from time to time under great diaadvantage
from the want of a good printing establishment. A volume of the observations in
1831 is just announced to the public, and we know that they have been reduced and
arranged with great care by Mr. Taylor, who, although now commencing a new
career with more powerful and perfect means at his command, knows how to ap-
preciate the talents and care of his able predecessor.
Among the deaths of eminent astronomers noticed at the last annual meeting
were those of the Rev. F. Fallows, late astronomer at the Cape of Good Hope ; Cap*.
Foster, R. N ;— M. Pons of Marlia, and the Abbe Gregoire. Mr. Fallows wai
appointed to the Cape early in 1821, and he reached it in the 12th August.
" His first undertaking was an approximate catalogue of 275 principal stars, pub-
lished in the Phil. Trans. 1824. From the description of the instruments employ-
ed, it will be seen, that they were of a very humble description, viz. a portable tran-
sit of only twenty inches focal length, and a very indifferent altitude and azimuth
instrument by Ramsden, ill divided, and unstable in its adjustments, being indeed
originally constructed as an equatorial. It is probable that the length of time
which must necessarily elapse between the design and completion of a first-rate ob-
servatory, in a foreign station, was not fully taken in to account, either by the
Government or the astronomer, otherwise the temporary instruments would, doubt-
less have been of a very different class. The plan of the observatory was received
by Mr. Fallows in the latter part of 1825, and he immediately proceeded to carry
it into effect. A site was selected about three miles from Cape Town, and Mr. Fal-
lows lived in a tent on the spot, to determine the lines of the building and to super-
intend the workmen. The foundations were dug out before the clerk of the worts
arrived to relieve him from this task.
" In the beginning of 1829, the transit and mural circle were fixed in their placet,
and we might now have anticipated a season of enjoyment for the Cape astronomer
but for some cause hitherto unexplained, the circle to which he had looked forward
with pride and exultation proved for a long time a source of bitter uneasiness. Somf
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18M.J Proeret* of European Scietufe. $g
net of this mot doubtless be attributed to the shattered state of the observer's*
beaka ; bet the met, that ' the index error of two opposite microscopes was ever
triable in different parts of the instrument, while with three microscopes, at 120*
iotaace from each other, or with the whole six, the index error was nearly con-
tUni,' was sufficiently startling to harrass a person of less sanguine and zealous
toper. Finally, Mr. Fallows was of opinion, that some permanent injury had been
neaved by the circle and axis, from a fall which the package received whilst it was
maoriag from die hold of the ship at the time of landing, but that the mean of the
rix microscopes might be fully depended upon, since high and low stars, when ob-
imtd directly and by reflexion, gave the same position of the horizontal point
Before he had come to this conclusion, which seems to have been some time in the
middle of 1830, sickness deprived him of the services of his assistant, Capt. Ronald
nwi Mr. Fallows was left, unaided, to do the best he might with a transit and mural
rirete. He was relieved from this difficulty by the affection and intelligence of Mrs.
Fallows, who offered to undertake the circle observations while he was engaged with
toe transit, a very little instruction sufficed to render her perfectly competent for this
talk : and the Cape astronomer had like Hevelius, the pleasure of finding his best
■"■fcat in the partner of his affections. Some of his letters, written at this time
^prcss a strong hope and confidence that he should at length be able to justify the
*%a expectations which had been formed of the observatory, and that his work
fold bear a comparison in accuracy, though not in extent, with that of any other
^ablishment.
"But the labours of the observatory were too much for a constitution already
nock enfeebled by previous^ jjkiess. He had suffered very severely from a coup de
#*H soon after his arrival at the Cape, while fixing the small transit ; and besides
■>me less serious complaints, experienced a dangerous attack of scarlet fever in the
Maimer of 1830, from which he seems never to have fully recovered. In the begin-
fiug of 1831, bis health was visibly impaired, but he could not be induced to leave
the observatory before the equinox. Towards the end of March, he became inca-
pable of straggling any longer with the disease, and went to Simon's Town : but it
was now too late, and he breathed his last on the 25th July, 1831, in the forty-third
Jew of his age."
Mr. T. Hknbbrsox, well known as one of the most active and enlightened culti-
? «ton of astronomy, has been appointed to succeed Mr. Fallows, with Mr.
Meadows, as his assistant.
CapUto Fobtxb. (known as the companion of Capt. Parrt in his voyage to the
north pole) was unfortunately drowned while descending the River Chagres, in a
«***» towards his ship the Chanticleer, then lying at anchor. He had nearly com-
pleted bisexperhnental voyage, the object of which was to swing Rater's convertible
Pendnbnn near the equator, and in various places in the southern hemisphere. He
*»* performed this task at fourteen different places, and had amassed a series of
*°17 observations, arranged with such system in printed registers that there will
bt little difficulty in digesting the results.
M. Pons belonged to the observatory of Marseilles, where he became known from
W steady attention to the discovery of comets : indeed in the beginning of his
bk* he was put at the head of an observatory st Lucca by Maria Louisa of Bour-
boa, with provision that he should receive 100 dollars from the Queen's purse for
«*7 cosset he might discover!
Digiti
zed by G00gle
56
Meteorological Register.
[Jan. 1833.]
Q
I
o
i
&
a 8
*
si
H
<3
0-3
6§
-2u(iWA3
•ooom
■.itiiiijoiv;
•Sinu.n;*
moo A M
•iamsovi
km?01 IV
I«
> ^ -s .: tf * d * • .fed* • * . * . «J d d d * i .ddtf
c ^ d d i c S d ►■« c 8 4 a c c j d d d I c I c-14 = I *4|
EfUUUtt58&&&f^lUUII3&&SQ8S8R&&l
3sS8££s££3&3S3«S$$5;3£3S3&333328
| if
ij!
ir
8 5."
--5*
- - -
if!
- --
s Jit
■^51
'*i ^r 01 iv a«i»'x'i^(c«o wf r*i^.tCtCt>-tCM3Jr^t-;cx rssTcTsvc s^cTaeae 3131 so . - 5*
"■111
25 35 3 35 a" .% S !i f i 35 J i 3 e &£g -3 S 8 3 33 5 *?g i
•xeuipa I 4 9in*oi« r>. usee 01 <oo « *iOt~m*nnv}<e&n «b"|t
•re -v <?
uinuiuitrc
I
•8£
C «
d
01
3 3s 5? S 5? e S i t i i i 3 S g* ~ g" 5 @ 3 -3 5 3 ? 3 3* i* 3 3 S3 S e *S c
5 JT
S8HSS|!i|S^|§§||8Sl|SSSS5 a 9ll VlM
vv »^|UUin(UHIllHHIIUIlllQU|l]|
IS85SS3S3S S|is s II iissaas ssi ssg| ?
•"•vol JV
■w *v s iv
= — S" ^*5 : ^' £
— ■ «l P5 *■ *o « r»» Oi 3 — o*ej *«<5 Vt»9C
*K S S 3 « ©i j5 Sj5 S .% ?5
II 1
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JOURNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
Jfo. 14.— February, 1833.
L—Note on the Origin of the Kdla-Chakra and A di- Buddha Systems.
By Mr. Alex. Csoma de Koros.
Hie peculiar religious system entitled the Kdla-Chakra is stated, ge-
nerally, to have been derived from Shambhala, as it is called in Sanscrit,
(in Tibetan " 6d£-Abyung," vulg6 " de-jung," signifying " origin or
source of happiness/') a fabulous country in the north, the capital of
which was Cdlapa, a very splendid city, the residence of many illus-
trious kings of Shambhala, situated between about 45° and 50° north
latitude, beyond the Sita or Jaxartes, where the increase of the days
from the vernal equinox till the summer solstice amounted to 12 Indian
horns, or 4 hours, 48 minutes, European reckoning.
The Kdla-Chakra was introduced into Central India in the last half of
the tenth century after Christ, and afterwards, via Cashmir, it found
its way intoTibet ; where, in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth cen-
turies, several learned men, whose works are still extant in that country,
published researches and commentaries on the Kdla-Chakra system ;
among these authors the most celebrated are Puton, or Bu-stom,
Khftup, or x»Khas-grub and Padma Carpo, who lived respectively
m the three centuries above-mentioned.
Padma. Carpo (on the 68th leaf of his " Origin of (the Buddhistic)
religion" AChhos-Abyung (vulg6 " Ch'os-jung," consisting of 189
leaves,) thus describes the introduction of the Kdla-Chakra into, or at,
Nsl s m k (or Nalendra, a large religious establishment in Central India),
tnd the doctrine which it contained :
" He (a certain pandit called Tsilu or Chilu) then came to Nalanda
u\ Central India, (S. Madhyam,Tib. rfvus, or vulgo U.) Having designed
Digiti
zed by G00gle
58 Origin of the Kdla-Chakra and Adi-Buddha Systems. [Feb.
over the door of the Bihar the ten guardians (of the world), he wrote
below them thus :
" He, that does not know the chief first Buddha, (Adi-Buddha),
knows not the circle of time. (Kala-Chakra, dus-kyi Akhor-lo, in
Tibetan*.)
He, that does not know the circle of time, knows not the exact enu-
meration of the divine attributes.
He, that does not know the exact enumeration of the divine attri-
butes, knows not the supreme intelligence (S. Vajra dhara jnydna, Tib.
rdo-rje* Msin-pahi y£-shes.)
He, that does not know the supreme intelligence, knows not the
Tantrica principles (Tantra Ydnam.J
He, that does not know the Tantrika principles, and all such, are
wanderers in the orb of transmigrations, and are out of the way (or path)
of the supreme triumphator (S. Bhagavdn Vajra dhara, Tib. 6,chom-
Jdan-Adas rdo-rje Adsin-pa.)
" Therefore, Adi-Buddha (Tib. mchhog-gi dang-pohi Sangs-rgyas)
must be taught by every true 6Lama (S. Guru, a superior teacher,
religious guide), and every true disciple who aspires to liberation (or
emancipation) must hear them.'' Thus wrote he:
" The venerable (the lord) Narotapa (Narottama ?) being at that
time the principal (S. Upadhyaya, Tib. mkhan-po) of the Bihar ; he,
together with five hundred pandits, disputed with him, but when they
saw that he excelled them all in disputing, they fell down at his feet,
and heard of him Adi-Buddha ; then this doctrine was much propa-
gated." — See leaf 68, by Pa dm a Carpo.
Here follows the text of the above quoted passage by Pa'dma Ca'rpo.
both in the Tibetan and Roman characters.
* The Kdla-Chakra and Adi-Buddha systems are probably-4he same with that
of the Samanians in the north, in Transoxana, and beyond the Jaxartes, as it has
been described by M. Deguignes, in his " Histoire Glnlrale des Huns," Livre III.
p. 223, &c, recently criticised by M. Remusat ; since the doctrine of the Samanians
is exactly the same, as I have found in the Tibetan volumes. — Besides the mystical
theology and philosophy, there are in the K&la-Chakra system several works on
astronomy, astrology, and prophetical stories on the rise, progress, and decline of the
Muhammedan faith. — In the fatan-Agyur collection (of 225 volumes) the five first
volumes contain fifty- two tracts or treatises on the Kdla-Chakra, all translated from
the Sanscrit ; but, besides these, there are many other volumes written by Tibetan
authors on the same subject. In the Asiatic Society's library, there are also some
printed volumes, containing commentaries on the Kdla-Chakra, by Khltup or more
properly mKhas-grub, mentioned in this paper as a very celebrated writer in the
fifteenth century. Should I find any interesting article in it, I shall take occasion to
notice it hereafter.
Digitized by
Google
^ J J Sx Pi UJ. *U //.
JB.Tajsi*, liCk
ki by Google
Digitirod by
1833.] Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendai. 59
De* nas Araa Nalandar byon, ptsug-lag khang-gi sgo gong-du rnam-
pa Achu <rvang /dan bris, d£hi ^sham-da : " Gang-gis mchhog-gi dang-
pohi Sangs-rgyas mi-shes-pa des ni dus-kyi Akhor-lo mi-shea- so; Gang-
gis dus-kyi Akhor-lo mi-shes-pa de*s ni mtshan yang-dag-par 6rjod-pa
mi-shes-so; Gang-gis mtshan yang-dag-par ftrjod-pa mi-shes-pa des
rdo-rje* Adsin-pahi-yl-shes-kyi sku-mi-shesso ; Gang-gis rdo-rje* Adsin-
pahi y6-shes-kyi *ku mi-shes-pa de*s *nags-kyi theg-pa mi-shes-so;
Gang-gis tnags-kyi theg-pa mishes-pa d6thams-chad ni Akhor- va-pa ste"
6chom-/dan-Adas rdo-rje Adsin-pahi, lam dang bral-vaho. D6-lta-vas-na
*chhog-gi dang-pohi Sangs-rgyas ni ftLima dam-pa-rnams-kyis fatan-
par-bya-zhing, thar-pa don-du £mye>-vahi slob-ma dam-pa-rnams-kyis
mnyan-par-byaho," zhes bris-pa.
Jovo Narotapa d6 dus delii mkhan-po yin-pas, d6 la sogs-pa Pan-
dita ina Argyas 6rtsad-pas phul-du phyin-par mthong-nas zhabs-la fttud-
de dang-pohi Sangs rgyas nyan-pas chher dar-var gyur-pa yin-no.
No mention is made of the Kdla-Chakra, nor of A di- Buddha, by ancient
writers in India, till the 10th century, except in the first volume of the
rGyut class in the Kah-gyur, where it is evidently an interpolation
from true historical works of later ages.
Since the passage above exhibited is an authentic text for the name
of Adi- Buddha, while it furnishes a general idea of the Kdla-Chakra
system, I have thought proper to bring it to the notice of the Society,
and hope it will be of some interest.
II. — Journal of a March from Ava to Kendat, on the Khyendwen River,
performed in 1831, by D. Richardson, Esq. Assistant Surgeon of the
Madras Establishment, under the orders of Major H. Burney, the
Resident at Ava. ^\ ^ '
20th January, time 5 h. 20 m. distance 10 miles ; direction N. 40°
W. ; at noon, started from Ava; 12 h. 25 m. crossed the river, which,
with waiting on the northern bank for two horses and some coolies from
the Myo Woon of Tsa-gain, detained us till 2 h. 45 m. when we again
proceeded, and at 3 h, 25 m. passed Pa-be-dan, or Blacksmith's Vil-
lage, of from seventy to one hundred houses, all inhabited by black-
smiths from Tsa-gain, (the city on the northern bank of the river oppo-
site to Ava :) to this place the houses are nearly continuous. At 3 h.
35 m. pass Kyouk-tsheet, nearly the same number of houses ; the
inhabitants employed in making marble images for the pagodas, and
other religious edifices. At 4 h. pass Magee-tzen, a village nearly the
i 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
60 Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendal. [Fib.
same size as the others : about 4 h. 30 m. pass within a furlong east
of the Koung-mhoo-dou-gyee pagoda, to the S. W. of which, about half
a mile, is a swamp of some extent, and to the east of it, and of the
road, another, called Yc-k,ha, the waters of which are extremely bitter.
5 h. 20 m. halt at Tsa-ye, a large village ; the road throughout the
day has been level and good : about two and a quarter miles west from
the foot of the Tsa-gain hills ; — the soil light and sandy : nearly the whole
country, on both sides of the road, has been under cultivation, and
the cholum* and paddy stubble is now covered with many hundred black
cattle, in high condition. No Tes had been built for us here, though
orders to that effect had been issued by the Lhwot-tau many days.
21st. Time 3 h. 5 m., distance nine miles ; direction N. 20* W. ; 9 a. m .
leave Tsa-ye; 9 h. 30 m. pass through Padoo, a large village, perhaps
160 houses. 12 h. 5 m. halt at Kek-ka, about 90 houses (in the
ZaratJ ; appearance of the country much the same as the latter part of
yesterday's march. Cattle numerous, water sufficient, and cultivation
extensive, but slovenly in most places, with the exception of the spots
where grain is sown, which is about a foot high, green and vigorous, and
the fields well cleared : the jungle has been only partially grubbed out, and
the paddy, sesamum, and cholum sown amongst the remainder. The road
to-day level, and still light and sandy, has run along a plain, between
the Tsa-gain hills to the eastward, running about N. 20° W. distant
three miles, and a ridge of elevated ground to the westward, running
nearly in the same direction, distant about eight miles. Great part of
this plain is, and the whole might be, brought under cultivation.
22nd. Time 7 h. distance 21 miles, direction N. 20* W. ; 8 a. m.
leave Kek-ka; — 8 h. 50 m. pass Thughe, a small village, perhaps 20
houses : — 9 h. 20 m. pass Pay Thughe, about 60 houses : — 9 h. 45 m.
pass Oun-ngay-bouk, about 70 houses : — 10 h. 20 m. Kamday, small vil-
lage ; in the palmyra tope, preparing to make sugar : — 1 1 h. 10 m. En-
bay taung-cong; — 1 1 h. 40 m. En-bay, rather a large village : — 1 h. 20 m.
They-yoin, small village, some remarkable pagodas : — 3 h. 8 m. halt at
He-len, large village, about 150 houses. The road light sandy, as before,
as far as They-yoin, from which commences a rich loamy clay, and the
crops of grain seem from the stubble to have been heavier. The
range of hills, to the westward of which we have been marching, termi-
nated at Kek-ka, and exposed to view a second range somewhat higher
than the first; the highest called Seew-koo-taung, perhaps 1500 or 2000
feet, bounding the Shan country, running nearly in the same direction
• Burmese, Pyoung ; I am told the whole country from this to Mouxobo is
under water in July, August, and September.
Digitized by
Google
1633.] Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendal). 61
(N. 20* W.) and distant from the road perhaps 15 or 20 miles. After
leaving En-bay, up to which place the cultivation of all the common grain
of this country was almost uninterrupted, with large and numerous herds
of cattle and villages at short distances, — the horizon to the westward
was bounded by apparently a thin strip of palmyra trees, running some
way north, then coming round to the eastward, increasing in
numbers, crossing the road, and running on towards the hills ; im-
mediately within these, to the westward, is a grassy, apparently marshy,
plain of some miles, and immediately on the borders of this, about quar-
ter of a mile from the road, small clusters of huts called Tsha-doun,
from the occupation of their inhabitants, who are salt-makers ; and
between these and the road, the paddy grounds, from which the salt is
also obtained, continue to He -ten.
23rd. Time 8 h. distance 22 miles ; direction N. 40° W.;8a. m.
leave He-len, immediately after which, cross for a few minutes some
high broken ground, at the foot of which cross some marshy grounds
in the salt fields ; at 8 h. 30 m. the paddy fields and cattle of the village ;
—9 h. 30 m. grassy plain with open jungle ; 9 h. 45 m. jungle closer :
— 10 h.pass a small village of 10 or 12 houses, called Tha-men-kkyet-
tsham, or cooked-rice shop, where three people may dine well for £ of
* tikal ; the inhabitants of this place belong to Mout-tsho-bo, and come
out here, and to some other villages of the same nameftn this neighbour-
hood in the fine monsoon, to keep these shops ; — lOh. 30 m. a small vil-
lage or salt station with its paddy ground and cattle ; 1 1 h. 50 m. arrive at
Mout-tsho-bo, famous as the birthplace of ALOMPRA.a walled city of two
miles square : the walls principally of bricks, partly of a kind of slate,
are still in pretty good repair, though the city was at one time, since
Axompra, entirely abandoned, and has only of late years been re-occupi-
ed; it is said to contain 1000 houses, which I should think rather under
than over the true estimate, though there are extensive paddy fields,
(amongst which many of the descendants of Alompra are living by their
labor) to the northward and westward, between the inner brick walls
and the outer wall, or earthen mound, round which is the ditch. To
the southward, there is no earthen wall, and the ditch is close to
the brick walls. The inner small fort or rather palace enclosure (for
it is without flanking defences of any sort, as indeed, is the large
one to any extent), is entirely without inhabitants. The old palace
nearly all down, and overgrown with long grass and creepers ; it must
have always been confined, as the Lhwot-tau and platform for the gong
for striking the hours are divided from it, within the same enclosure,
by a brick wall. The large pagoda called Shwe-ta-za, or Nae wadi ste
Digiti
zed by G00gle
52 Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendat. [Fbb.
thoo Koung-mhoo-dau, is of considerable size, but no gilding is now
visible on it. 12 h. 20 m. start, and at 1 h. 25 m. pass out of the
Kathee gate of the outer wall ; the ditch, which on the south side is
empty, and might be crossed without notice, is here in tolerable repair,
and between the gateways to the right, full of water*. 2 h. 35 m.
a small village (Thamen-khyet-tshainJ. 3 h. pass Ka-daun, a village of
50 or 60 houses : at four, halt at Kya-yowa, a village of about 200
houses. The first part of to-day's march has been less under cultivation
than the same distance during any former part of the route from Mout-
tsho-bo ; hitherto it has been almost continued : cattle and water abun-
dant, the road good throughout : the eastward hills have been visible all
day, but extremely distant in the afternoon : no high land visible to
the westward, many of the villages surrounded with cocoanut trees,
and the palmyra numerous throughout, notwithstanding the extensive
production of salt. For the last two days, I have not tasted any water at
all brackish. Of the salt, three different kinds are obtained — the red,
the bitter (probably containing a portion of sulphate of magnesia), and
the white; the two former are entirely used in making Gna-pee or
Balachong ; the latter only is good and fit for culinary purposes.
24th. Time 7 h. 10 m. distance 19 miles, — direction N. 65° W.
8 a. m. leave Kya-yowa ; 9 h. 15 m. pa3s the second Kya-yowa,
of which there are three "established by 'Bundoola when he was
Myo Woon of Debay-en, and governor of the northern provinces : to
pass a small grassy lake, and the third Kya-yowa ; — 10 h. 30 m. pass
Men-daun. In the jungle to the north of this, which is scantily in-
habited, there is a herd of 50 or 60 elephants, which are exceedingly
destructive to the crops in this neighbourhood. 12 h. 45 m. came on
the banks of the Moo river now easily fordable on horseback, but of
much greater extent and depth in the rains. There are now two
streams of nearly equal size, with an extent of perhaps 100 yards of
land between ; the whole from bank to bank cannot be less than 400
yards. Crossing which river and waiting at Ye-oo, a large village on the
western bank, for some fresh horses, detained us till 2 h. 5 m. and
at 3 h. 15 m. halt at Pha-lan-goun. Paid my respects in the evening to
the Debay-en Myo Woon, (a relation of the Queen's,) who is a Men-
gyee, and in addition to his Myo Woonahip, also governs the northern
provinces: he is a man of about 45 years of age, of intelligent and ra-
ther prepossessing appearance ; he was engaged in the usual important
duty of witnessing a/wfc (or natch) on the occasion of calling Thadoo
* I was told that the ditch could at any time he filled from the K*n-4au-gy€t y or
great royal lake, which lies about two or three miles to the N. E.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Journal of a Mission from Ava to fCendat. 63
to a new pagoda, many of which edifices and some magnificently gilded,
with Pkonn-gyee houses and tankfc attached, have been constructed by
him, and his predecessor, proclaiming the richness of his government.
The hills to the northward were visible till noon, since which I had
not seen them : inhabitants, cattle, cultivation, and water, plentiful ; and
the roads good for any description of carriage at this season.
25th. Halt at Pha-lan-goun, which is a large scattered village of pro-
bably 150* houses ; the governor of thenorthern provinces has now his re-
sidence here. The city ofDebay-en, from which he takes his title, is situat-
ed about six miles to the south-westward ; it is nearly depopulated, and the
wallsentirely out of repair. He (Myo Woon) furnishes from his government
(which extends now, since the removal of the Myo Woon of Mout-tsho-bo
from the Tsa-gain territory, to the KkyendtcenJ , 3600 soldiers and sixbds
or officers. 300 of them have been exercising with muskets last even-
ing and to-day, assisted by some natives of British India, six of whom left
Ava three months ago, receiving 25 tikals each ; they say, they have been
drilling recruits to the northward, and are now about to return to Ava.
Grain is here plentiful, and tolerably cheap ; paddy sells at from 1 5 to 20
tikals per 100 baskets ; cholum, 10 tikals per 100 baskets, and the sesamum
oil \ tikal the vis, and palm sugar (a large quantity of which is made here,
and sent to the other parts of the country, even exported at Rangoon ;
the season for entering on the manufactory commences the end of next
month), I understand it sells for 15 tikals the 100 vis. Though cattle
are so plentiful here, I am told that as much as 80 tikals is sometimes
gjven for a good caste bullock, with the proper marks ; but cows and
the common bullocks sell from 5 to 8, or 10 tikals ; and for common
draught cattle, from 10 to 15. Got some coolies and horses here.
26th. Time 4 h. distance 12 miles; direction N. 60° W. left Pha-
tan-govn at 8 h. 55 m. p. m. Pass Sedi Mee, a village of 30 houses ; — 9
h. 25 m. Way They, of the same size; — 10 h. 10. m. Yowathect, about
100 houses, which is called Yowama, or chief village, from which many
little nameless villages in this neighbourhood are offsets. — 11 h. 25 m.
cross a small nala, and 8 h, 12 m. halt at My ago. The whole march
to-day has been one uninterrupted sheet of cultivation ; the soil, rich
clayey loam, the crops heavy and close, and the whole country studded
with palm trees, round which the paddy is sown with no more loss of
room than the size of their trunks. The trees most numerous in the
jangle are the Theet-tse, which were in full flower on my return on the
19th February.
* I diacorcred on my return that I had considerably underrated the population,
ef this put of the country.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
€4 Journal of a Mission from Am to Kendat. [Fbb.
27th. Time 9 h. 15 m. distance 25 miles, — direction N. 80° W. ;
7 h. 35 m. leave Myagoo; at 8 h. pass a small village, where sugar is
made ; 9 h. 30 m. another small village, of 5 or 6 houses,— small stream.
12 h, cross the wide bed ef a nameless mountain stream, in which the
stream of water at this season is not ankle-deep ; from this there is a
slight gradual ascent; — at 4 h. pass the village Yowa-ngay, 20 houses;
4 h. 50 m. halt at Bentkee in the jungle. No village, and very little
water; the road has been as good as usual, but entirely in the jungle.
Since 9 h. 30 m. with v the exception of the little village of Yowa-ngay*,
we have seen neither inhabitants, cultivation, nor cattle, and the pal-
myra has entirely disappeared; the jungle has been open, principally
composed of E*\ trees ; some teaks of fair size, and a great number
of Theet-tse trees.
28th. Time 6 h. 30 m. distance 19 miles; direction S. 60° W. 7
h. 30 m. leave Benthee; 8 h. 15 m. pass the exid of a deep ravine,
running N. from the road. Since noon, yesterday, have been ascend-
ing . — n ow (8 h. 45 m.) descend]: into the broad bed of a river (without
a name), along which in deep sand, the road runs all the way to
Thoun-bouk, when it falls into the Khyendwen, and along which a
small stream of water finds its way, occasionally on the surface, oc-
casionally lost in the sand ; the banks, which are of soft sandstone,
vary from 20 to 100 feet, often perpendicular; sometimes on both,
sometimes only on one side of the river, the other being low, covered
with jungle, as the high banks are to their edges. In width the river
varies from 40 to 120 yards, or more; and in the sand are many larger
rolled masses of granite and sienite ; but I saw no other rock in situ but
the argillaceous sandstone, of which the whole of the bank is composed,
and which is in a state of decomposition wherever it is exposed to the
action of the atmosphere. 11 h. Kimdogue, a small village, with 10 or 12
houses, some cattle, bafialoes, and cultivation about it; there is a ravine,
running away to the N. W. and a small stream comes down from the
westward, running apparently in much the same description of bed as
that down which we have come, which joins here ; and the ground is more
* This is the only village left of several very large ones, which were situated here,
and were destroyed by robbers before Bundoola, who immediately preceded the
present governor, was appointed to this province ; they came from Lado, about 11
miles S. E. of Moutahobo. Their chiefs, wearing gold chattahs, ransacked the country
sometimes with 2000 followers. Bundoola however cleared the country, which has
remained quiet since, and travelling now is perfectly safe.
f A large forest tree ; the timber of which is used in boat-building, and the
leaves in the thatching of houses where grass is scarce.
X All the streams to the eastward fall into the Moo, those to the westward into
the Khyendwen.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendat. 65
Mmpy (with long grass) than any part of the country since leaving
Ati; the road is however stiH very passable for any common carriage s
I r. m. low range of hills, S. 70° W. distant six miles, running S. 20"
bed of the river, which is now a continued stream, and march along its
bub till two :— halt at Thoun-bouk, a village of about 20 or 30 houses
on the E. ; leave the banks of the Khyen-dwen. The road we have come
to-day is the only one by which communication is held with the capital,
era in the rains, though the torrent is so impetuous during and imme-
diately after heavy rain as not to be fordable, yet it soon runs off and
never tends a continued body of water into the Kkyen-dwen for any
length of time.
29th. Time 4 h. 15 m. distance 12 miles, direction about N. 75° W.
8 h. 30 m. send the baggage by the river, by which greater part of
the communication to the N. W.is carried on; weleweThoun-bouk ; for
a few minutes we travel through a thick jungle, then ascend a low but
steep lull, down the descent of which we are obliged to dismount and
lead the horses. At 9 h. 10 m. in sight of the Khyen-dwen, and proceed
along the broad bed of a mountain torrent in deep white sand, with
high perpendicular banks running off in ridges from the stream :—
9 h. 35 m. enter the jungle, and immediately ascend another hill ;
past along a narrow ridge, and descent very steep; continue cross-
ing steep ridges of low sandy hills, covered with jungle, and winding
amongst mem in the dry beds of torrents, till 12 h. 15 m. when we
pass a small village in a cultivated plain : — 12 h. 30 m. cross a small
stream about knee-deep, in which the horses suddenly sink up to
their girths in the sand, and we are obliged to dismount, to allow them
to extricate themselves; they crossed with some difficulty. 12 h.
45 m. itMouk-ka-dau, a village of perhaps 80 or 100 houses, close to
the banks of the Khyen-dwen. About one day to the north of our march
to-day, are a considerable number of cassia trees. In the bed of most of
the streams and on many of the hills also, saw numerous (calcareous)
woody petrifactions, but could hear of no fossil organic remains in this
neighbourhood ; there are two pretty large boats on the stocks here, and
teak timber of good size cut in the neighbourhood, ready for the con-
struction of others.
30th. Time 6 h. 20 m. distance 17 miles; direction N. 30° W.;
7 h. 30 m. leave Movk-ka-dau, and in a few minutes descend slight-
ly into the valley of the stream in which the horses swamped yes-
terday : — pass along a bad and swampy road through paddy fields, in-
to which the water has been turned for cultivation ; cross and
recroas the stream till 9 h. 45 m. when we proceed up a small
branch more to the westward, with high sandstone banks on the west-
K
Digiti
zed by G00gle
66 Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendat. [Fm-
wardand jungle on the eastward side, along which we proceed till 1 1
h. 25 m. when the water is lost in the sand; halt till 12 ; then to
Pa-doo-yee, where we halt at 3 h. 15 m. in a small bamboo Za-yat
in the jungle: the road has much the same character as yesterday, with
the addition that some of the ravines close to the road have a consider-
*ble appearance of danger ; both sides of the first stream, along which
we passed till 9 h. 45 m., are well cultivated and inhabited, with many
buffaloes and some black cattle. We followed the cart road of the val-
ley till 11 h. 25 m. when we left it to the eastward; the jungle prin-
cipally composed of En trees, with a considerable number of teak and
Theet-tse trees : we have seen numerous marks of deer, wild hogs, and
cows throughout the march ; passed some small pieces of petrified wood,
but not nearly so abundant as yesterday.
31st. Time 7 h. 45 m. distance 20 miles— direction N. 35* W. at 7 h.
45 m. a. m. leave Pa-doo-ye, and proceed along a jungle path in all re-
spects the same as that we have followed for the last two days.
till 4 p. m., when we pass some paddy fields with a few buffaloes belong-
ing to the small village of Balet, which consists only of 4 or 5 houses,
at which we halted at 4 h. 25 m. Some high hills to the westward of
the Khyen-awen, within a few miles of which this village is situated.
One visible from this, bearing N. 80° W. distant 15 miles— direction of
the range is about N. 10 W.
1st February. Time nine hours ; distance 25 miles ; direction N. 20*
W. ; were nearly losing some of the horses in the night by a tiger, which
has done a good deal of mischief between this and the next stage ; 5 L
50 m. leave Balet by a sandy road, on the side of a small stream,
with paddy fields along its banks, till 8 h. 30 m. when we halted at
Ma-tsen to breakfast ; had cold dew or fog all the morning, so hea-
vy as to fall from the trees, as after a shower. We have had during
the night ever since entering the jungle, and it will continue it is
said till the beginning of the rains, which set in here about the mid-
dle or end of this month. 10 h. 25 m. leave Ma-tsen, by a pretty
good buggy road along the edge of the stream we have followed from
Balet, and which here runs in a valley of about a mile in width. This
valley is nearly all under cultivation, with a good many black cattle and
buffaloes; it is bounded on the west by a low range of hills, and to the
east by high hills running off in ridges to the northward ; the little vil-
lages in this valley go by the general name of Ma-tsen, and are said to
amount in all to about 400 houses. 12 h. 30 m. leave the valley, and
cross some steep, but low hills, by a rugged path, in rather thick
jungle, till 1 h. 20 m. ; pass a small village. From this to Nantkee the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendat. 67
course of the river is exceedingly circuitous amongst low rugged
Mil, across which our path has lain : after passing three small villages,
each in its little valley by the^stream, which is here perhaps two and
half feet deep, at 4 h. 45 m. halted at Nanthee, a village, 40 or 50
houses, with extensive paddy fields, many black cattle, and a few horses.
2nd. Time 5 h. 40 m.; distance 16 miles; direction N. 20°
E. 7 h. 50 m., leave Nanthee, and proceed along the banks of the stream
in a little valley, two or three miles in width, in which the Nan*
thee villages are scattered in the same way as were those of Ma-tsen
yesterday ; road partly good, till 9 h. 30 m. when we entered the jun-
gle, and the path assumes the same character as the jungle of the
last few days, from 1 h. 30 m. till 2 h. 30 m. when we halted at
Kendat : the road is level, and the country open and cultivated to
the N. W. as far as the Khyen-dwen river ; immediately on the wes-
tern side of which, distant about six miles, the rugged hills of the Ma-
nipur territory rise to some height, and run away in confused and
broken ranges to the N. E. close to the edge of the river. Kendat,
the present residence of the Khambat or Kendat Woon, (for the.
former title is still given him by the Burmans, though the town from
which he takes it, is at present subject to Manipur ;) is a long, narrow
jungle- wood stockade close to the east bank of the river, containing
perhaps 12 or 1400 inhabitants, situated in a long narrow swampy
valley, lying along the river, about 15 or 20 miles in length and aver-
aging one- half or two miles in width, with a strip of swampy ground,
when appears atone time to have formed the bed of the river running
to the eastward of it. The number of cattle is smaller in proportion
to the number of inhabitants than in the villages nearer the capital. Bad
as the road is from Thoun-bouk to this, I am assured, that Alompra
once travelled it in a carriage ! and that it is the best, perhaps the only
one by which any number of people ever come in this direction, I have
little doubt. It is called by all the poor people in the villages, who can-
not be suspected of any motive to deceive, and who could not have been
earned to do so, Lan-ma-dau-gyee, or great royal road (king's high
way), and is I dare say very passable to a Burmese army, who have no
commissariat, and whose artillery is not the most extensive, and is often
moved by manual labor, assisted by elephants.
10th. Waiting to this date for the arrival of Captain Grant from
Maipur, who joined me this evening ; have seen a good deal of the Kam-
bat Woon, since my arrival here ; he tells me the Payen-dwen or amber
tame, so called, is in the bed of this river, about 40 days from this place ;
but that the amber is found most abundant, about four miles inland, on
the eastern side of the river, where it is obtained in pieces sometimes
k 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
68 Journal of a Mission fr 6m Ava to Kendai. [Pn.
one and a half foot or more in length, and images of Godama are formed
of it ; its price increases with its size and transparency, but good amber
may be bought on the spot for one tikal and a half a viss, and I am
assured that the best would not cost five tikals.
The principal deposit of coal, which is found here in large quantities,
in the bed of the river, is about 12 or 14 miles above this, in the small
valleys, on both sides of the river. It is of that species denominated
lignite, and some of it is so highly bituminized as to be converted into
jet. In some specimens, whilst the outside contains this large proportion,
of bitumen, internally there is very little ; the longitudinal fracture is
dull, the woody structure perfect, and some of the fibres retain slight
elasticity ; the transverse fracture has in all instances some degree of
lustre in situ ; it is formed in sand, and soft sandstone rock, in large
pieces, retaining the form of the trees, from which it was originally
formed : the Burmans say it is useless as fuel, going out unless used
with a large quantity of wood.*
17th. Having been provided by the Khambat Woon with three boats,
we started this day at noon, on our return to Ava. The river which runs
here to the southward and westward is wide, probably 600 yards ; bat
the water is at this season confined to a narrow channel on the western
aide. In 1829, the river rose higher than has been remembered here,
and the same was the case with the Me-ping, and rivers in north Laos,
where a good deal of damage was done, and the crops, in many places,
totally destroyed. Six p. m . halt at Matsein, the largest of the villages
of that name ; the river has been very circuitous throughout the day;
the banks generally high sandstone hills, covered with jungle to the water,
which is so shallow, where it extends nearly across the bed of the river,
that the boat has grounded once or twice ; the villages four in number,
generally small ; no cultivation visible on the immediate banks of the
river.
18th. Seven h. 20 m. a. m. leave Matsein, and at 6 h. 30 m. p. v.
halt at Oo-yowa ; passed eight villages on our route to-day, some of
them (as Kea-dzet, which we passed at nine o'clock,) larger than any of
those we passed yesterday ; at 1 1 h. 40 m. a small river falls into this
from the north-eastward, which the people in my boat say is the Myeet-
tha. The nature of the country has been nearly the same as yesterday,
viz. high hills, often nearly perpendicular towards the river ; covered
with jungle, till 3 p. m. ; since which the hills have retired from the
river, and the country has been more level, but covered with jungle;
we have passed a good many fishing stakes, and several parties of fisher-
men hutted on the sands.
* Vide Gleanings in Science, III. 125.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1SI30 Jmarna of « Mission from Ava to Ktndot. 6T
19th. Seven h. 15 m. leave 0o , — 10 h. 30 m. the river gives off a
branch nearly as wide as the main stream. 10 h. 45 m. pass the
city of Men-gen, about 150 houses with gardens, tastefully disper-
sed along the banks of the river : where also are the boats of the
TiOage, (for a village it is now,) amounting to about 100 or up-
wards, many of them good sized. 12 h. 20 m. the branch men-
tioned at 10 h. 30 m. here rejoined the main stream. 3 h. 35 m.
Mimk-ka-dcm, and at 5 h. halt at Thoun-bouk, where the horses had
armed about a quarter of an hour before us ; we passed six villages
to-day, including Men-gen and Mouk-ka-dau ; all small, but the two
named ; the course of the river was very circuitous, and the hills (which
are of sandstone, soft and friable at the upper part and more compact
near the bottom) again close to it, but to-day frequently only on one
tide, the other being level.
20th. From this we returned by the same route we travelled in the
way up, making longer marches, and reached Ava in Bix days. We had
heavy rain the first three marches, from which the people look on the
rains as set in, and are in many places preparing the ground for the paddy.
The last three days, however, it cleared up again, and the sun was exceed-
ingly powerful till our arrival at Ava, where we halted on the 25th, at
noon.
Should it ever be necessary to move a force across this part of
the country, the way in which I have returned is the only practicable
one. From Ken-dot to Thoun-bouk t ihe road is impassable for all sorts of
carriage, but boats may be had on the river : from Thoun-bouk to Ava
the road is good ; water, cattle, grain, every necessary in greatest abun-
dance.
It may be worthy of remark here, as a little clue to the feelings of the
people towards us, that I was very well received by the Debayen and
Kambat Woons; that after the third day's march, tes or little tempo-
rary houses were invariably erected for us as had been ordered by the
Wooa-gyees, and the people voluntarily appeared to pay us more atten-
tion in proportion as we receded from the capital. On my return, the
lower orders were universally anxious to learn the result of my Mission,
with the object of which they all appeared acquainted ; and on being told
that every thing was quiet and right, I was always greeted by the excla-
mation of " tkadoo," " thadoo*," (counting beads at the same time)— an
expression which entitles the person making it to a portion of the merit
•rising from a.gooji work, whilst it increases, or, at all events does not
diminish that accruing to the performer of it.
• A term of approbation in Burmese, " well done— that is right."
Digitized by
Google
70 Journal of a Mission from Ava to Kendat. (Fbb.
Remarks on the Route Protraction, PL V.
The Irrawaddy and Moo rivers, in this sketch, have been copied
from the Map of Ava in Mr. Crawford's Mission, and the Khyen-dwen
river from Lieutenant Montmorency's Survey, as given in Lieutenant
Wilcox's Map of the countries to the £. and N. £. of Bengal. The
position of Kendat and Mouk-ka-dau, as well as of Ava, being fixed
according to the above authorities, an attempt has been made to lay
down Mr. Richardson's route, so as to correspond with those points.
The following table will show the direction and distance travelled on
each day, as computed by Dr. Richardson, and the corrections, on ac-
count of the windings of the road, and alterations made in order to
reconcile his route with the situation of Mouk-ka-dau and Kendat.
Dr. Richardson's Computation. Correction and Alteration.
1st day, 20th Jan. From Ava toTsa-ye, N. 40 W. 10 miles, N. 40 W. 8 miles
2nd do. 21st do... To Kek-ka, N. 20 W. 9 do.... N. 20 W. 7 do.
3rd da 22nddo.. To Helen, N. 20 W. 21 do.... N. 20 W. 16 do.
4th do. 23rd do.. . To Kya-yowa, N. 40 W. 22 do.. . . N. 40 W. 17 do.
6th do. 24th do... To Pha-lan-goun, . . N. 70 W. 19 do.... N.70 W. 16 do.
6th do. 25th do.. . To Mya-goo, N. 60 W. 12 do.. . . N. 60 W. 10J do.
7th do. 26th da.. To Ben-thee, S. 80 W. 25 da... S. 80 W. 20 do,
8th do. 27th do... To Thoon-boak, . . . . S. 60 W. 19 da... N. 10 W. 17 do.
9th da 28th do. . To Moak-ka-da, .. N. 80 W. 12 do.) j N.40 \V. 9 do.
10th do. 29th do... ToPadoo-ye, N. 30 W. 17 do. If N.30 W. 14|do.
Uth do. 30thdo... ToBalet, N. 35 W. 20 do. j g N. W. 15 do.
12th do. 3lstdo... To Nan-thee, N. 20 E. 25 do. J * N.15 E. 17 do.
13th do. 1st Feb. To Kendat, N. 10 W. 10 da... N. 15 VV. 9 do.
Total, 221 miles. Total, 176 miles.
The most important deviation from Dr. Richardson's computation
was found necessary to be made, in the direction of the route from
Ben-thee to Thoun-bouk. Captain Baker, who visited Mont-tsho-bo in 17
hours, 55 minutes, estimates Ava to be 45 miles distant, and states that
he stopped and landed stKhoun-meon, (Kyouk-myoung ,) on the Irrawaddy,
and that this place is 12 miles due east from Mout-tsho-bo. — (Dalrymple's
Oriental Repertory, vol. i. 147, 169, and 176.) Kioum-young, in Mr.
Crawford's Map, is due east from the position given to Mont-tsho-bo in
Dr. Richardson's route, which makes this city 40 miles from Ava.
But it would appear, that the Irrawaddy, in this part of its course, must
have a direction 14 miles more to the westward, than what is marked
in former maps. Dibayen, Dr. R. learnt, is only six miles to the S. W.
of Pha-lan-goun, and not so near to the Irrawaddy as before supposed.
The situation of the great lake, or Kan-dau-gyee, also must be differ-
ent. Dr. R. understood, that water can be let into the ditch of Mout-
tsho-bo fort from that lake.
Dr. R. on his return from Kendat, came down the Khyen-dwen in a
boat in three days to Thoun-bouk, and thence to Ava he travelled by
the same route as before.
Digitized by
Google
Jour.As.&OC.Ptell.Pl fV.
J13. Ta*ri* &&■
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
1 833. J Trisection of an Angle, 1 \
III. — Trisection of an Angle. By Col. Nasmyth Morrieson v
Proposition 1st, Theorem. r*"'
If, from the vertical angle of a triangle, having one of the angles at
its base double of the other one, and the vertical angle greater than
half a right angle, a straight line be drawn to cut the base, making an
angle with the greater side of the triangle adjacent to the vertical
angle, equal to the lesser angle at the base ; and if from the vertical
angle as a centre, at the distance of the lesser side of the triangle ad-
jacent to the vertical angle, a circle be described ; the circle, and the
line drawn from the vertical angle to cut the base, and the base of the
triangle, have one common intersection.
Let ABC (fig. 1 ) be a triangle, having the angle BAC, one of the angles
at its base double of the angle BCA, the other angle at its base, and its
vertical angle ABC greater than half a right angle; and let the straight
line BD be drawn from the vertical angle ABC, to cut the base AC in
D, making with CB, the greater side of the triangle adjacent to the
vertical angle, the angle CBD equal to BCA, the lesser angle at the
base (23.1) ; also from B as a centre at the distance BA, the lesser side
of the triangle adjacent to the vertical angle, let the circle ADE be
described ; the circle ADE, the line BD, and the base AC intersect one
another in one common point D.
Because, by construction, the angle DBC is equal to the angle DCB,
the side BD is equal to the side CD (5.1), and D is the point of inter-
section of BD and AC. Again, because BDA, the exterior angle of the
triangle BDC, is equal to the two interior and opposite (32.1) and also
equal angles DBC, DCB, therefore, BDA is double of DCB, that is ACB ;
but, by construction, the angle BAC is double of ACB, therefore BAC
is equal to BDA (6 ax) ; and because the angle BAC is equal to the
angle BDA, the side BD is equal to the side BA (5.1); wherefore
the circle ADE described from the centre B, at the distance BA passes
through D, the extremity of BD, or D is the point of intersection
of the circle ADIJ and the line BD ; but it has been already shewn
that D is the point of intersection of BD and AC, consequently the
circle ADE intersects, in the point D, the line AC ; therefore the circle
ADE, and the straight lines AC and BD intersect in one common point
D. Q. E. D.
Proposition 2nd, Problem.
To draw the base of a triangle, so that, of the interior angles at the
base, one shall be double of the other, the vertical angle of the triangle
being a given rectilineal angle greater than half a right angle.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
72 * Trisectio* of an Angte. [F»*.
Let ABC (fig. 2) be any given rectilineal angle greater than half aright
angle. Having placed it for the vertical angle of the triangle ABG,
it is required to draw the base AG, so that of the interior angles it
shall make with BA and BC, at the base of the triangle ABG, the one
shall be double of the other.
From the centre B at any distance BA describe the circle ADE ;
again, from the centre B at twice the distance BA describe the arch of a
circle FH, cutting BC, in F ; also from the centre A at three times the
distance BA, mark the point C in the line BC ; divide the segment PC
into three equal parts (9.6) ; make FG equal to one-third part of PC
(3.1) ; through Gdraw GH at right angles to BC (11.1), meeting the
arch FH in the point H ; join BH and GA; the line GA is so drawn
that BAG, one of the angles at the base of the triangle ABG, is double
of BGA, the other angle at the base.
Because the two straight lines BH and AG and the circle ADE in-
tersect in D, the two sides BD, BA of the triangle ABD, being radii
of the circle ADE, are equal to one another (ll.def.) ; also BH, which
is equal to BF (ll.def.) and double of BA or BD, is bisected in D;
again, because BGH is a right angle subtended by BH, it is an angle
in half the circle, having BH for its diameter and DB for its radius
(31.3) ; and because GD joins the vertex of the right angle BGH and
D, the point of bisection of the diameter, it is equal to DB (ll.def.).
Now because DG is equal to DB, the angle DBG is equal to the angle
DGB (5.1); and they are the two interior and opposite angles to BDA,
the exterior angle of the triangle BDG, therefore BDA is equal to
them both (32.1), and double of either of them, that is, it is double of
DGB ; but the angle BAD is equal to the angle BDA, because BD is
equal to BA (5.1), therefore BAD, that is BAG, is double of DGB, that
is, AGB. Wherefore the base AG is drawn so that the angle BAG, one
of the angles at the base of the triangle ABG, is double of BGA, the
other angle at the base. Which was required to be done.
Note. — The truth of the above demonstration rests upon the straight
lines BH and AG and the circle ADE having one common intersection;
but as the circle and any two right lines have not of necessity one
common intersection, it may perhaps be objected to, on the ground,
that though it states the fact, it does not prove the intersection of the
circle ADE and the right lines BH and AG in the common point D.
To remove that objection, the following demonstration is given.
The construction being the same as above, instead of joining GA,
proceed thus :— join BH, and let BH cut the circle ADE in the point D ;
join GD and DA ; AD, DG are in the same straight line, and AG, the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
As t$>c
R.v mil.
J. 3 Tatsirv Irf/v.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Trisection of an Angle. 73
base of the triangle ABG, is so drawn that BAG one of the angles at
the base is double of BGA the other angle at the base.
AD and DG are in the same straight line ; for through D draw DK,
making the angles KDA, KDG equal to one another (9.1) ; take any
point L in the line KD, and from the centre L at the distance LD
describe the circle DNMK ; if necessary, produce DB to meet the circle
DNMK in M ; join MK ; and make the angle MND in the segment
DNM of the circle DNMK. Now the angles KDG, KDA are either
together, equal to, or greater, or less than two right angles ; if greater,
then KDG is greater than a right angle, and GD being produced in
the direction of D, will fall within the circle DNMK on the opposite
side of KD from DG (Cor. 16.3), which it does not, therefore KDG is
not greater than a right angle : neither is it less than a right angle, for
then DG would fall within the circle DNMK (16.3), which it does not;
therefore KDG must be a right angle : and because at the point D the
extremity of the diameter DK, DG makes a right angle with DK,
therefore GD touches the circle DNMK (Cor. 16.3), and because DM,
drawn from the point of contact D, cuts the circle DNMK, the angle
MDG is equal to the angle DNM in the alternate segment MND
(32.3). Again, because the angle KDA is equal to the angle KDG, it
is a right angle, and also touches the circle KMND (Cor. 16.3) ; and
because DM, drawn from the point of contact D, cuts the circle DNMK,
the angle MDA is equal to the angle MKD (32.3) ; and because
KDNM is a quadrilateral figure, described in a circle, the opposite
angles MKD, DNM are equal to two right angles (22.3), therefore
the angles MDG, MDA, being equal to the angles DNM, MKD are
also equal to two right angles ; and since at the point D, in the straight
lineMD or BD, the two straight lines DA, DG, upon the opposite sides
of MD, make the adjacent angles MDA, MDG, equal to two right
angles, AD is in the same straight line with DG (14.1) : and the figure
AGB being contained by three straight lines, is therefore a rectilineal
triangle (16 def.) Now BD is equal to BA, being radii of the same
circle ADE (11 def.), and because BH is a radius of the circle of which
FH is an arch, it is equal to BF and double of BA or BD, and bisected
in D by the circle ADE ; also because BGH is a right angle, subtended
by BH, it is an angle in half the circle, having BH for its diameter and
DB for its radius (31.3); and because GD joins the vertex of the
right angle BGH and D, the point of bisection of the diameter, it is
equal to DB (1 1 def.) Now, because DG is equal to DB, the angle
DBG is equal to the angle DGB (5.1), and they are the two interior
and opposite angles to BDA, the exterior angle of the triangle BDG,
therefore BDA is equal to them both (32.1), and double of either of
L
Digiti
zed by G00gle
74 Trisection of an Angle. [Fn.
them, that is, is double of DGB ; but the angle BAD is equal to the
angle BDA, because BDis equal to BA (5.1), therefore BAD, that is
BAG, is double of DGB, that is, AGB. Wherefore the base AG is drawn
so that the angle BAG, one of the angles at the base of the triangle
ABG, is double of BGA, the other angle at the base. Which was re-
quired to be done.
Proposition 3rd, Problem.
To divide any given rectilineal angle into three equal angles.
Let ABC be any given rectilineal angle, it is required to divide it
into three equal angles.
Consider whether the given angle is greater or less than three half
right angles. First, let the angle ABC be less than three half right an-
gles. Take any point D in AB, and through D draw DE, parallel to BC
(31.1) ; then the aogle BDE is the angle to be placed as the vertical
angle of the triangle BDL ; which having obtained, draw the line BL
in the same manner as was done in the diagram for the foregoing pro-
position No. 2 ; and bisect the angle ABL by the straight line BO
(9.1). The straight lines BL and BO divide the angle ABC into three
equal angles.
Because DE is parallel to BC, and LB falls upon them, the angle
DLB is equal to the angle LBC (29.1) ; and because the angle DBL is
double of the angle DLB, as demonstrated in the 2nd proposition above
written ; therefore the angle DBL is double of the angle LBC ; also
because the angle DBL is bisected by the straight line BO, the three
angles DBO, OBL, LBC are equal to one another.
Secondly. But if the given angle ABC be greater than three half
right angles, bisect it by the straight line BN (9.1) ; and take any
point D in AB, and through D draw DE, parallel to BN (31.1). Hav-
ing thus got the vertical angle for the triangle BDL, viz. BDE, draw
the line BL, as was done in the diagram for the foregoing proposition
No. 2 ; and bisect the angle LBC by the straight line BO (9.1) ; the
straight lines BL and BO divide the given angle ABC into three equal
angles.
As before, because the angle DBL is double of the angle LBN, it is
two thirds of the angle DBN ; but because the angle DBN is one-half of
the angle ABC, and that two-thirds of the half is one- third of any given
whole, therefore DBL is one-third, and the remaining angle LBC is
two-thirds of the whole angle ABC ; and because the angle LBC is
bisected by the straight line BO, the three angles ABL, LBO, OBC
are equal to one another. Wherefore the given angle ABC is divided
into three equal angles by the straight lines BL and BO. Which 1
required to be done.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Mines of Precious Stones in Ava. 75
IV.— Short Description of the Mines of Precious Stones, in the District
of Kyat-pyen, in the Kingdom of Ava.
[Translated from the original of IVee Giuseppe d'Amato.] *
The territory of Kyat-pyen* (written Chia-ppien by d'Amato) is
situated to the east, and a little to the south of the town of Mon-lhd,
(which latter place is by observation in latitude 22° 16* North,) dis-
tant 30 or 40 Barman leagues, each league being 1000 too, of seven
cubits the taaf ; say 70 miles. It is surrounded by nine mountains.
The soil is uneven and full of marshes, which form seventeen small lakes,
each having a particular name. It is this soil which is so rich in mine-
ral treasures. It should be noticed, however, that the ground which
remains dry is that alone which is mined, or perforated with the wells
whence the precious stones are extracted. The mineral district is divided
into 50 or 60 parts, which, beside the general name of " mine," have
each a distinct appellation.
The miners, who work at the spot, dig square wells, to the depth of
15 or 20 cubits, and to prevent the wells from falling in, they prop
them with perpendicular piles, four or three on each side of the square*
according to the dimensions of the shaft, supported by cross pieces be-
tween the opposite piles.
When the whole is secure, the miner descends, and with his hands
extracts die loose soil, digging in a horizontal direction. The gravelly
ore is brought to the surface in a ratan basket raised by a cord, as water
from a well. From this mass all the precious stones and any other mine-
rals possessing value are picked out, and washed in the brooks descend*
ing from the neighbouring hills.
Besides the regular duty which the miners pay to. the Prince, in kind*
they are obliged to give up to him gratuitously all jewels of more than
a certain size or of extraordinary value. Of this sort was the tomallina
(tourmaline ?) presented by the Barman monarch to Colonel Symes.
It was originally purchased clandestinely by the Chinese on the spot;
the Burmese court, being apprized of the circumstance, instituted a
strict search for the jewel, and the sellers, to hush up the affair, were
obliged to buy it back at double price, and present it to the king.
* The Kymt-pyen mountains are doubtless the Caption mountains mentioned aa
the locality of the ruby, in Phillip's Mineralogy—" 60 miles from Pegue, a city in
Ceylon." Though it might well have puzzled a geographer to identify them without
the due of their mineral riches.
f Estimating the cubit at 1* feet, the league will be 10,500 feet, or nearly two
miles j — about an Indian hoe.
l 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
76 Mines of Precious Stones in Ava; [Fn.
You* may ask me, to what distance the miners carry their excavations ?
I reply, that ordinarily they continue perforating laterally, until the
workmen from different mines meet one another. I asked the man who
gave me this information, whether this did not endanger the falling in
of the vaults, and consequent destruction of the workmen ? hut he re-
plied, that there were very few instances of such accidents. Sometimes
the miners are forced to abandon a level before working to day-light, by
the oozing in of water, which floods the lower parts of the works.
The precious stones found in the mines of Kyat-pyen, generally speak-
ing, are rubies, sapphires, topazes, and other crystals of the same family,
(the precious corundum. J Emeralds are very rare, and of an inferior sort
and value. They sometimes find, I am told, a species of diamond, but
of bad quality f.
The Chinese and Tartar merchants come yearly to Kyat-pyen, to pur-
chase precious stones and other minerals. They generally barter for
them carpets, coloured cloths, cloves, nutmegs and other drugs. The
natives of the country also pay yearly visits to the royal city of Ava, to
sell the rough stones. I have avoided repeating any of the fabulous
stories told by the Bnrmans of the origin of the jewels at Kyat-pyen.
There is another locality, a little to the north of this place, called Moo-
hop, in which also abundant mines of the same precious gems occur.
Note. — While I am writing this brief notice, an anecdote is related to
me by a person of the highest credit, regarding the discovery of two
stones, or, to express myself better, of two masses (amas) of rubies of an
extraordinary size, at Kyat-pyen. One weighed 80 biches\ t Burmese
weight, equivalent to more than 80 lbs. ! the second was of the same
size as that given to Colonel Symes. When the people were about to
convey them to the capital to present them to the king, a party of ban-
dits attacked Kyat-pyen for the second time, and set the whole town on
fire. Of the two jewels, the brigands only succeeded in carrying off
the smaller one ; but the larger one was injured by the flames : the cen-
tre of the stone, still in good order, was brought to the king. I learned
this from a Christian soldier of my village of Mon-lhd, who was on guard
at the palace when the bearer of the gem arrived there.
• The letter seema to have been intended for some scientific friend in Italy.
t Probably the iurmali or transparent zircon, which is sold as an inferior dia-
mond in Ceylon. [Vide vol. i. page 357.]
X The Pere d'Amato's bichc is the bine of Mendez Pinto, and die old travellers,
and the bUwa or vu of Natives of India. The Burmese word is Peik-tka, which
is equivalent to 3J lbs., and to a weight on the Coast of Coromandel called vif . B.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Note on Saline Deposits in Hydrabad. 77
V. — Note on Saline Deposits in Hydrabad. By Assistant Surgeon r
J. Malcolmson, Madras European Regiment. .,v >•
From the interest which these possess, and the discussions they
have excited, without any precise information as to their geological
position, I believe the following notice will be interesting.
The summits of most of the detached hills and minor ranges north
of Cuddapah are composed of a sand-stone, stratified in a perfectly hori-
zontal manner. It is often white, and the grains are large ; but towards
Tripetty, where it meets the granite, it is very compact and white, and it
is a good deal inclined to the east. The red soil of the district is loaded
with salt, which is manufactured by the natives, principally for their
cattle; but as it is prohibited by the Government on account of the reve-
nue from the salt monopoly, it is seldom extensively worked in the
districts I visited. The range of hills through which the Benar river
passes at the ancient fortress of Gundicottah is formed of this sandstone ;
but inclined towards the east at a slight angle, and by no means regu-
larly. This is separated by a narrow valley from hills exhibiting the
horizontal strata on their caps, and the remains of these could be clearly
traced on insulated conical hillocks, and had all belonged to one vast
sheet. Below the sandstone caps, a clay slate, easily broken down, is
found, and the lower strata over the country is a stratified blue limestone.
In the slope of the hill of Gundicottah are springs of very pure water
very profuse, and forming small rivulets, tumbling over the rocks in
fine cascades, but evidently deriving their source from no great distance,
as in a day or two after the rain we had, the streams were much dimi-
nished where they emerged from between the strata. The Benar and
these streams have formed cliffs round the fortress of 200 or 300 feet,
all of sandstone, but at the very bottom, a deep ravine. I found one
or two clay slate strata of about an inch thick interposed; and a
few miles below, the blue limestone appeared in the bed of the river.
At a place eight or ten miles lower, the same rock abounds over
the plains, and in the town is a salt well celebrated from its use in
washing cloths of fine colors manufactured there, and to the fixing of
which it is essential. I descended the well, and with some difficulty
broke off specimens of the rock, which was deep blue slate-like stone,
as if the clay were passing into the limestone, and between the thin
slabs were layers of salt. The specimens were lost, but I hope to pro-
cure others. The salt was in great part composed of muriates of soda
and carbonate of soda, but they were not examined. Carbonate of soda
effloresces on the surface not far off, and this on being melted with
Digiti
zed by G00gle
78 Note on Saline Deposits in ffydrabad. [Fbb.
powdered quartz in the manufacture of bangles affords, attached to the
glass, a hard solid pure white coat of muriate of soda, $ of an inch
thick. Copious springs abound in the blue limestone, and those I saw
were sweet, and probably flowed from the neighbouring sandstone. In
a cavern in the lime opening above by a great longitudinal fissure, like
that of Duncombe park, after a rapid descent of perhaps 30 or 40 yards,
I found further progress stopt by a stream of water running over a
quartz sand. When the water was low, the natives told me they could go
further, but at that time it reached within half a foot of the roof of the
contracted extremity. The sand was probably derived from the cap
of the adjoining hill. The sides were rough, with stalagnite exceed-
ingly like the kankar found in great beds lying on the limestone.
It is probable that the stream is not long subterraneous, as numbers of
small fish approached the torches. The natives gave them a name,
but I regretted I could not catch one for examination. Superstitious
stories led me to examine this, and other likely places for organic re-
mains, and I think it probable, such may yet be found. In the sand-
stone are the celebrated diamond mines of BanganopUly. Shafts
being sunk through the rock, till they reach the conglomerate contain-
ing the numerous species of minerals which experience has shewn to be
associated with the gem, this is excavated and sent out of the mine
to be broken up in search of the diamond. This conglomerate does
not occupy a complete stratum, but generally varies in thickness.
The sandstone in many places has been subjected to violent forces
injecting, between its layers, a reddish iron-looking sandy rock, which
has bent the thin strata above and below out of its place, and at others
forced a way through the numerous vertical divisions of the stone, and
appears to have flowed in a semifluid state over the surface, and to
have carried along with it angular fragments of the rock, which
are fixed in it like plums in a cake. In one or two instances,
the fragments seemed to have been broken, but not removed from
their original situation ; the lines of separation being filled with the
same matter that flowed out. The end of a neighbouring hill is covered
with round stones, several feet in diameter, hard, black, and apparently
composed of trap, and called in the language of the country " black
balls." The trap rocks are not known to exist within 50 miles.
Amongst the " diamond stones," as they are called, there is one of a
jet black, and very hard, suggesting that it might be of a carbonaceous
nature ; and the appearances of the action of fire would favour an hypo-
thesis of the carbon of this mineral being changed by that action into
the diamond. This is a mere fancy, but it seems sufficient to direct
Digiti
zed by G00gle
183&] Note on Saline Deposits in Hydrabad. 79
inquiry. The Chintir mines are in general formed by the destruction,
by water, of hills, such as Banganopilly . The bine limestone has also
experienced violent changes, forcing the strata into vertical and curiously
contorted shapes, but in general it is little disturbed. I did not find
nor hear of the remains of shells, although I looked anxiously for them ;
but there were, in many situations, numerous tubular perforations
usually full of a kankar like matter mixed with iron, and very subject
to decay. They were often arranged in rows, and sometimes lost in
the stone gradually. If these are justly regarded as peculiar to lacus-
trine deposits, the absence of shells is singular ; but at EUore, I have
seen the trap perforated by similar shaped calcedonies, most properly
compared %o tobacco-pipe stalks. These rocks abound with curious
minerals and phenomena, but these are the principal facts I observed
connected with the question of the relations of the sandstone. I
met with a blue limestone perforated as above, in the Guntoor Circar,
running into the white lithographic marble of Manopilly, on the KisU
nah, and probably in some way connected with the diamond deposits
of the district. The identity with the Hindustan sandstone appears
from the number of variegated marks and of grits in the beds ; from its
use for architectural purposes, in being horizontally stratified ; in the
strata being sometimes unconformable ; — in its being in the neighbour*
hood of saline deposits of the same kind, and in both containing diamond
mines and various iron ores;— in its passing into quartz rock, and being
interstratified with clay slate, though rarely. If there is no misprint, it
difiers in lying on instead of being covered by a blue limestone, without
fossils : vide Gleanings, vol. iii. p. 213.
P. S. The clay slate is sometimes wanting, and the sandstone then
Hes on the blue limestone as at Pushpagarry, immediately above the
Chinur diamond mines ; and here there are larger grits than in most
other places, and small veins of quartz. Below the mines, the limestone
is much contorted and dislocated. The limestone is not one of the dia-
mond stones of the miners, although it abounds with the gem in the
beds of Chinur. Nor is there any trap rock amongst them, although
Werner asserts they are found in Orissa at the foot of trap mountains.
The subject of the origin of the " terreins de transport/' in which
they are found, is demonstrated by the associated stones in my posses*
sion ; but it appears very doubtful, whether they are of diluvial origin.
as asserted by Buckland, using the word as opposed to alluvial. See
Betiqmt, page 220, and Bronaniart's Trait*.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
80 Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. [Feb.
VI.— An Experimental Inquiry into the Means employed by the Natives of
Bengal for making Ice. By T. A. Wise, Esq. M. D. ^
(Read 3rd October, 1832.) >^ %
A large quantity of ice is used during the cold season in Bengal, for
purposes of luxury, which is supplied hy natives at a comparatively
cheap rate, from their employing a process by which they can make a
large supply at a moderate expence. As very imperfect accounts have
hitherto been given of the means they employ, and as most erroneous
opinions are generally received regarding the causes by which the re-
quired degree of cold is produced, I hope a short account of the princi-
pal ice-manufactory in Bengal will not be considered unworthy the
notice of the Society.
A particular field in the neighbourhood of the town of Hooghly has
been many years in requisition as the place for making ice, and is said
by the natives to be the only one in this part of the country in which
it can be produced in any considerable quantity : this seems the more
reasonable, as the trials to make ice at Serampore, Calcutta, &c. may
be considered to have failed when the quantity is compared with that
obtained at Hooghly. This peculiarity may be owing to the elevation,
exposure, and distance of the latter from the sea. The soil of the field
in which the ice is made is a black loam upon a substratum of sand; it
is more elevated than the surrounding country, is liable to partial in-
undations in heavy rains, and is skirted on the south, east, and north
by trees, and on the western and northern directions has an open plain
for some extent.
The manufacturing commences towards the end of November, and
generally continues until some time in February. These periods vary
in different years, owing to such circumstances as the quantity of water
upon the ground at the close of the rains, the early or late cold season,
its length, &c.
The best months for making ice are the latter part of December and
the whole of January ; and during November and February, there are
generally only a few nights in which ice is made in any quantity.
The natives commence their preparations for making ice by marking
out a rectangular piece of ground, about 120 feet long, by 20 broad, in
an easterly and westerly direction, from which the soil is removed to
the depth of two feet- This hollow is smoothed and allowed to remain
exposed to the sun for some time to dry, when rice straw in small sheaves
is laid in an oblique direction in the excavation, with loose straw upon
the top, to the depth of a foot and a half, leaving its surface half a foot
Digiti
zed by G00gle
183d.] Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal 81
under the level of the ground. Numerous beds of this kind are formed,
with a narrow path between them, in which large earthen water-jars are
sunk into the ground for the purpose of having water near, to fill the
shallow unglazed earthen vessels in which it is to be frozen. These
dishes are nine inches in diameter at the top, diminishing to 4f 6 inches
at die bottom, l T a * deep, and + v of an inch in thickness; and are so
porous as to become moist throughout when water is put into them.
During the day, the loose straw in the beds above the sheaves is oc-
casionally turned up, so that the whole may be kept dry, and the water-
jars between the beds are filled with soft pure water from the neigh-
bouring pools. Towards evening, the shallow earthen dishes are ar-
ranged in rows upon the straw, and, by means of small earthen pots tied
to the extremities of long rods of bamboo, each is filled about a third
with water. The quantity, however, varies according to the ice ex-
pected ; which is known by the clearness of the sky and steadiness with
which the wind blows from the N. N. W. When favourable, about
eight ounces of water is put into each dish, and when less is expected,
from two to four ounces is the usual quantity ; but, in all cases, more
water is put into the dishes nearest the western end of the beds, as the
sun first falls on that part, and the ice is easier removed from its solu-
tion being quicker. There are about 4590 plates in each of the beds
lately made, and if we allow five ounces for each dish, which presents a
surface of about four inches square, there will be an aggregate of 239
gallons, and a surface of 1530 square feet of water in each bed.
In the cold season, when the temperature of the air at the ice-fields is
under 50**, and there are gentle airs from the northern and western direc-
tion, ice forms in the course of the night in each of the shallow dishes.
Persons are stationed to observe when a small film appears upon the
water in the dishes, when the contents of several are mixed together and
thrown over the other dishes. This operation increases the congealing
process. A state of calmness has been discovered by the natives to
diminish the quantity of ice produced ; and this is confirmed by the fact
well known in our laboratories, that water may be gradually cooled down
many degrees below the freezing point without congealing, provided
it be kept perfectly stilh When the sky is quite clear, with gentle
steady airs from the N. N. W. the freezing commences before or about
midnight, and continues to advance until morning, when the thickest
ice is formed. I have seen it 7 7 v th of an inch in thickness, and in a few
very favourable nights, the whole of the water is sometimes frozen ;
• Fahrenheit's thermometer is used in the following essay : a minute having
been allowed for each experiment.
M
Digiti
zed by G00gle
82 Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. \Tmm.
when it is called by the natives solid ice (pakka baraf) ; when it com-
mences to congeal between two or three o'clock in the morning, thinner
ice is expected, called paper< ; and when about four or five o'clock in
the morning, the thinnest is obtained, called phul baraf. The freezing
is frequently retarded in its formation during the night by the wind
rising to a breeze about 11 or 12 p. m.,— by clouds, &c. and the ice in
consequence does not begin to form until towards morning.
In the most favourable nights, the dishes are generally found en-
crusted with ice, both on their inner and outer sides, which adheres to
the rough surface of the plate with such a degree of firmness as to
require it to be partially dissolved before it can be separated from the
dish. I have often seen the natives wait until the sun was two hours
and a half above the horizon, before they could remove it.
Seven or eight persons, generally women, are allowed for each bed,
who with semicircular blunt knives remove the ice and water into
earthen vessels placed near them, which are moved along as they pro-
ceed in their work. When these vessels are full, they are emptied by
men employed for that purpose, into conical-shaped baskets placed upon
the jars between the ice-beds which retain the ice, and allow the water
to flow into the water-jars. When the baskets are filled, their contents are
conveyed to temporary ice pits, which are about six feet deep, by four
in diameter, and are lined with mate. The ice is covered with straw, and
allowed to remain until evening, when it is again taken out and placed
in large pits. These consist of circular holes in dry situations from 10
to 12 feet deep, by 8 or 10 feet in diameter. These pits are well lined
with mats, and when nearly filled, some more straw and a shed of the
same material is placed over the ice. These non-conductors of caloric
are not sufficient to prevent the influence of the neighbouring media,
and a slow solution of the ice is the consequence, the water of which
is conveyed by a small hole, below the level of the pits, to a well near
it, from thence it is occasionally removed.
During the colder months, the ice is conveyed in the evening, in bags
of coarse country cloth, to boats in which it is put in bulk, and defended
from damp and heat, and is sent to Calcutta during the night, the dis-
tance being about 40 miles ; but, as the wastage is very considerable at
the beginning and towards the end of the season, when it is most required
and bears the highest price, it is then conveyed thither in baskets lined
with straw and mate, and arrives before sun-rise.
The ice which is not immediately required remains in the pits while
the ground is dry, where it slowly dissolves, especially along its sides ;
but as soon as rain falls in any considerable quantit its high tempe-
rature quickly dissolves what remains.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal 83
Repeated trials have been made at different times to accomplish the
desirable object of keeping the ice daring the hot season ; but so
great is the first expense, and so small a quantity of that produced yields
tny return, that hitherto every trial has proved unsuccessful, and has
entailed a heavy loss on the speculator. For the two last seasons, ano-
ther attempt has been made to keep ice, but although every precaution
was employed to guard against the influence of the surrounding media,
so powerful was it found during the last season, when the trial was for
the first time properly made, that the experiment proved unfavourable,
or only partially succeeded. The ultimate success of the measure must
now however depend in a great measure on the encouragement it re-
ceives in Calcutta, through which the best hopes may be held out of
introducing one of the greatest luxuries in a tropical climate during the
hot-season.
When the ice bed is examined after a favourable night, the straw ex-
posed between the plates and their sides is found covered with hoar-
frost, and near the water on the inner side small irregular nodules of
ice appear.
When the night has been very favourable, so as to freeze a consider-
able portion of the water, numerous small globules of air, naturally
combined with water, are disengaged during the freezing process, and
are found swimming upon the surface of the water, while others remain
attached to the bottom of the plate.
The separation of air from the water increases as the congelation
advances, and retards its progress more and more, as the proportion of
ice is greater, until nearly all the water is congealed, when a large glo-
bule of air is left at the lower and central part of the ice.
By expelling the air naturally contained in the water, by boiling, an
increased Quantity of ice is produced, but the expence of doing so is'
too great to admit of its being generally employed. On an evening in
the cold season, I boiled some water for a short time, and found next
morning more ice, but apparently as much air as in the neighbouring
dishes.
When the wind attains a southerly or easterly direction, no ice is
formed, from its not being sufficiently dry, not even, though the tem-
perature of the air be lower than when it is made with the wind from a
northern or western point. The most favourable direction of wind for
making ice is the N. N. W. diminishing in power as it approaches the
north and west : in the latter case, more latitude is allowed than from
the N. N. W. to the north. So great is the influence of the direction of
the wind on the ice, that when it sometimes changes in the course of a
night from the N. N. W. to a less favourable direction, the change not
u 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
84 Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. [Fbb.
only prevents the formation of more ice, but dissolves what may have
been formed. On such occasions a mist is seen hovering over the
ice-beds, from the moisture upon them, and the quantity of humidity
contained in the wind. A mist in like manner forms over deep tanks
during favourable nights for making ice.
Another important circumstance in the production of ice is the degree
of wind. When it approaches a breeze, no ice is formed. This is ex-
plained by such rapid currents of air indicating a considerable difference
of temperature between the situation from whence it passes, thus re-
moving the cold air before any accumulation has taken place in the
ice-beds. It is for these reasons that the thickest ice is expected when
during the day a breeze has blown from the N. N. W. which thoroughly
dries the ground, and towards evening and during the night diminishes
to gentle airs, which steadily proceed from the same quarter, so as to
allow the full influence of radiation and the impressions from the dear
sky.
The ice dishes present a large moist external surface to the dry
northerly evening air, which cools the water on them, so that, when
at 61°, it will in a few minutes fall to 56°, or even lower. But the
moisture which exudes through the dish is quickly frozen, when the
evaporation from the external surface no longer continues to produce
much effect.
To detect the influence of evaporation in producing ice, one of the
dishes was placed in the evening upon a patch of grass, five feet above
the level of the ice-beds, so as to be exposed to the full influence of
the sky and the cold northerly wind. This was the most favourable
situation for promoting evaporation. The night proved a favourable
one for the formation of ice, and in the morning the dishes in the beds
were covered with it, but the dish upon the elevation had lost weight
during the night, and had no ice upon its surface ; the water soon after
sun- rise was at 46°, on another morning the water stood at 50°. This
experiment was varied by placing a brass vessel of the same size and
form as the common plates upon a sprinkling of straw on an elevated
piece of ground near the ice-beds. In the morning it was found about
the same weight* without any ice, although the plates on the beds were
covered with thick ice. On the same morning one of the porous
earthen vessels similarly situated, and covered on its under side with
tinfoil, presented the same result.
As a further proof of the cold not being produced by evaporation,
I next carefully weighed a number of the unglazed dishes in the even-
ing and again in the morning, when I found that they had gained con-
Digitized by
Google
1 833.] Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. 85
adorable weight, which was owing td the absorption of moisture on
the surface of the water exceeding the loss by evaporation from the
external surface. The quantity of cold water which is sprinkled over
the dishes is not sufficiently large to explain the great increase in the
weight of the dishes, which I found was about the same when no water
had been thrown over the bed. Glazed vessels of different colours
were placed amongst the unglazed, which in the morning were found
to have thicker ice, and to have gained more weight than the common
In eight experiments with the common unglazed ice-dishes, the aver-
age gain in weight, was 68.5 grains; and of five experiments with
smaller black-glazed slightly porous dishes, this average was 110
grains. As the surrounding media must have a great influence on the
formation of ice, I noted their different temperatures. The air at the
ice-fields was always found warmer in the evening, and much colder
in the morning, than at the neighbouring village of Bandel, where the
ground is more sheltered by trees, from the direct influence of the
sun's rays. The average of a number of experiments in favourable
weather for making ice, gives, at Bandel, 70 degrees in the evening,
and 56 in the morning; and at the ice-fields 72° in the evening,
and 46° in the morning.
Tne temperature of the different substances in the neighbourhood, or
forming part of the ice-beds, was examined a little before sun-set and
soon after sun-rise : on a clear evening and favourable morning, they
were found to be as follows; —
Morning. Evening,
The air 5 feet above the ice-beds 42' to 46 # 72*
Water in the large jars between the ice-beds, 44 to 60 68
Water in a deep tank in ice-fields, 57 77
Ground in the neighbourhood, immediately under
the surfcee &* 57
Straw in the ice-beds, 3 or 4 inches under the surface, 42 to 46 4$
Ditto, of a thatched hut in the ice-fields, obliquely
exposed to the sky, 44 61
The temperature that generally prevails on nights fitted for the
manufacture may be learned from the following table, for which I am
chiefly indebted to Mr. Herklots, Fiscal of Chinsurah.
Digitized by
Google
86
Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal.
{Fw.
Abstract of a Table ofU years' Observations on the Temperature of the Air at Chm-
ewrah between the dawn of day and sun-rise, during the season of lee manu-
facture, by Mr. Hertlots, Fiscal of Chinsurah. The thermometer at the Ice-fields
generally stood 6 or 7 degrees lower; but this is not shewn, except in the last
year from Dr. Wise's Observations.
Mean temperature of the
air at Chinsurah.
1819-20.
1820-21.
To
1822-23.
1824-25.
1825-26.
1826 27.
1827-28.
1828-29.
1829-30.
1830-31.
64.6
49.9
.55.0
. 52.5
.51.4
53.1
Dec. ..
Jan.. . .
Feb.
Dec . .
Jan. . .
Feb. 7.
Nov.25to29,57.0
Dec 55.4
Jan. 1 to 21, 55.0
Dec. 7 to 28. 546
Jan. 9 to 19, 54.0
Decl6to28, 54.2
Jan .53.0
Feb. 1 to 10, 55.0
Dec 54.5
Jan 52.3
Dec 55 4
Jan 52.2
Feb. I to 19, 56.0
Dec.l8to31,56.1
Jan .,64.4
Feb. 1 to 17, 54.8
Dec. 5 to 31, 54.8
Jan 52.5
Feb. no ice.
Jan.), 30.0
2 to 30,.... 53.2
Feb 65.2
Mar. to 6tb,. 54.4
Nov. 6 to 20,
December 8,
9 to 23 ;
January 3,
4,
f>.
6,
7,
I:
11.
12
13
14
15
16,
17
is
19,
20
21
22,
23
SI
96
1831-32.
59.0
56.0
56.7
51.
49.
•?
488
49.
5ft
53.
5S.
58.
fi&
53.
m.
40.
18.
17.
19.
4H.
5it.
ta
52
so.
51.
1
=
.5
a
NE.
NW.
h
JiNW.
a
NW.
b
NW.
b
NW.
a
NW.
a
W.
. ,
NNW.
a
8W.
, ,
NNW.
. ,
NW.
a
NNW.
b
NNW.
c
NW.
c
NW.
c
NW.
b
NW.
b
NW.
b
NW.
a
NW.
b
NW.
m
NW.
*
SW.
January
February
March
M
27.
88,
m,
30
31,
1.
%
3,
4.
7,
18,
20.
28
29,
1
3.
9,
11,
12
14
15,
52;.,
52 46
54 49
56J47
60 59
1831-32.
aw.
SW.
w.
SW.
SW.
SW.
w.
NW.
NW.
NW.
N.
SB.
Number of days on which ice was formed in small
I quantity (a), \7
Ditto ditto of an average amount, (b), 7
Ditto ditto very abundantly, (c), 3
Total Ice-days in 1831-32. . J7
Note. In lieu of the more copious table given by Dr. Wise, we have condensed hie
own end Mr. Herklot's Observations into one table, which in fact shews all that beam
upon the question of Ice-making, namely, the general temperature under which it can
be formed, and the prevailing wind. — Ed.
The result of the observations of last season, as shewn in the above
table, proves that it is not by the temperature alone we are to judge of
the number of nights in which ice is produced, for, owing to the frequent
and heavy falls of rain and the number of cloudy days last season, there
were very few nights in which ice was formed, although the tempera-
ture W for an unusual number of mornings at the degree required for
producing it. The average number of nights in one season in which
ice forms is from 25 to 30 ; of these there are about 18 favourable, in
which the air is cold, the thermometer at Bandel under 54°, or, at the
Digitized by
Google
1833.]
Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal.
37
ice-fields, 48°. The very cold nights are from six to eight in one season,
or in which the thermometer is below 48° at Bandei, or in the ice-fields,
42*. The careful record of last season shews there were 27 nights on
which ice was formed, of which only three nights were very favourable,
seven favourable, and 17 less so.
As the influence of straw in producing the necessary degree of cold
must be considerable, the following experiments were tried. One of the
common unglazed dishes was placed at the bottom of one of the ice*
beds, with a very small quantity of straw between it and the earth, and
another dish of the same kind was placed in the same way without any
straw under it. Next morning I found ice had formed upon the water
in the dish which was put upon the straw in the ordinary way, but
there was none on the dish which had been placed without, nor on
another at the bottom of the ice-beds ; the water in the dish upon the
sprinkling of straw being at 50°, and the other upon the earth at 52°.
Soon after sun-rise on the same morning, the water in an ice plate,
put upon the walk between the ice beds, stood at 46°, and in the large
water jar between the beds at 60.5°.
As a further proof of the influence of straw in producing the degree
of cold necessary for forming ice, a register thermometer was placed
upon the straw with its bulb exposed to the sky near the side of one of
the beds, after several of the plates had been removed, when it was
found to indicate as follows ; —
Date.
Time.
Tempera-
ture.
Covered with
hoar-frost
a
s
a
=.
i
cv
26
29
E
a
.§
H
as
114
114
124
a
u
S J
i*
o
42.5
U
Tempera -
tare of the
air 4 feet
above the
beds.
Difference be-
tween the air
at the surface
of the straw &
4 feet above it,
1
i
■
>
i
D
1
28
47
34
i
-
■
i
70
59
8
47
48
47
48
>
65
61
-
1832.
Jan. 20.
22.
23.
24.
25.
7a.il
7 a.m.
7 A. M.
5 P. M.
5| P.M.
covered
covered
covered
21
if.5
60
This table presents a high maximum and veiy low minimum tempe-
rature, which is to be explained by the non-conducting and powerful
radiating property of the straw, &c. and, in the morning, in part to the
production of hoar-frost.
As the kind of dishes employed must have a considerable influence on
the temperature of the water they contain, I employed the following
means to detect the influence of the material of which the dishes were
formed. A morning was selected when the wind had suddenly changed
Digiti
zed by G00gle
88 Means of making Ice by the Natives of Bengal. [Feb.
towards daybreak to the S. W. direction, when the air was mild and
moist, and ice had formed on very few of the dishes placed upon the
straw. Soon after son-rise a mist appeared over the ice-beds. The
air was at 53.5°, and the temperature of the straw 42°. The tempera-
ture of the water, which in one of the common unglazed dishes in the
evening was 56° ; in a black glazed one was 58* ; in a white glazed one,
59° ; in the morning the temperature of the water in one of the common
unglazed dishes, with a film of ice on its surface, was at 34*, in the
dish next it without ice 35°. The water in a white saucer had a thin
sheet of ice upon its surface and was 35°, and in a deep white cop,
without ice 39.5°, in a black glazed cup 36°, in a deep one of the same
material 38°, and in a flat glazed plate 36*. On another morning of
the same kind, a black coloured copper vessel had no ice, while a white
painted brass vessel was covered with it.
The influence of brass dishes in conveying away the heat was made
evident by the ice being thicker than on the other dishes, and extend-
ing from the under edge of the plate of ice upon the surface of the
water for some distance along the inner surface of the brass dish.
(February 2.) The ice was thick, and numerous small triangles were
found a little to one side of its centre, which were not completely closed
at their apices, and around this central point the ice was bulged out and
thin, and, on examining its under surface, numerous crystals were found
to have formed at the raised part where the ice was thinner ; from whence
they shot obliquely towards the centre of the water, underneath the
upper plate of ice, where a small aperture was situated.
On the 2nd and 3rd of January, (1832,) there was only a thin film
of slightly irregular ice on the surface of the brass dishes without any
appearance of ice upon the water, in most of the plates, which with
the exposed portions of straw, grass, &c. were moist. The water in
the dishes which had not frozen near the sides of the beds, stood at
from 32* to 33°. In a dish put upon another with water in it the upper
stood at 32°, and the under at 33*. From these experiments the water
appears to be influenced by its depth, exposure, and the materials and
colour of the dishes employed for making ice.
In Bengal the day is always hot, and the tendency of caloric to ar-
rive at a state of equilibrium would soon render bodies on the surface
of the earth of the same temperature, were it not that each has an apti-
tude to receive and a power to discharge caloric, which is influenced
principally by the nature of the surface of the body and its temperature.
The degree of heat will vary with the power of the body, which may,
however, be influenced by the evaporation from it by winds and air
Digiti
zed by G00gle
ttt8.] Me*** of making Ice by the Natbx* ofBengH. ft$
betted by contact with the earth becoming specifically lighter and ris*
tag on the atmosphere. By the continual operation of these causes an
accumulation of caloric in the earth is prevented daring the day, and
as toon as the son sets, the increase of heat is checked and the night
is generally cool under a clear and sparkling firmament even during
the hottest season. This is in consequence of the generality of bodies
on the face of the earth radiating caloric in large quantities, especially
when exposed to the clear sky, as they receive few rays from the neigh-
bouring bodies in return for what they radiate into space. So power-
ful are these causes in producing a great degree of cold, that in very
favourable mornings drops of dew may sometimes be found congealed
in Bengal upon thatched roofs, and upon the leaves of some plants
during the cold weather. The cooling process advances more rapidly
than could be supposed by one who has not experienced it himself, and
proved the justness of his feelings by the aid of the thermometer. In
the open plain in which the ice is made, I have seen the temperature of
the air four feet above the ground fall in the time the sun took to de-
wend the two last degrees before its setting from 70. 5° to 57°.
Pieces of glass and tin were placed under the common dishes in the
ice-beds : in the morning they were carefully examined, and their under
surfaces were covered with large drops of moisture. A piece of glass
eight inches long and seven broad was placed on the evening of the
24th January, 1832, under an ice plate among the other dishes upon
the straw in the beds, after it had been weighed; next morning,
the dish was found to have gained 120 grains in weight, and, as
there was no ice, the water was found to stand at 34°. A dish placed
upon a plate of tin similarly situated with the last, gained 60 grains,
and the water stood at 38°. On the 26th January, there was very
little ice upon the plates, and a piece of glass and another of tin of the
aame sice as the last were placed under two dishes which had been ac-
curately weighed. In the morning the dish upon the tin had very
little ice upon its surface, and had gained 70 grains ; the dish upon the
glass had no ice and had gained 160 grains.
(17th January, 1 832.) This evening the following varieties of dishes
were placed among the common dishes. A brass dish of the same
ahape and size as the common unglazed dishes weighed the same even-
ing and morning. On another morning the experiment was repeated
with the same result. The ice however was thicker and more equal
throughout on the brass dishes than on any of the others ; as water
y boils more readily in metal, so it freezes more readily — hence little
N
Digiti
zed by G00gle
90 Means of making Ice by tie Natives of Bengal. (Tsv.
appearance of crystallization was observed, and near the centre of one of
the plates of ice a small triangular opening was left. The ice was
sooner detached from the dish by the heat of the sun, and a thin rim of
ice several lines in breadth was found descending along the metal
beyond the under surface of the ice.
One of the common dishes, lined with a coating of gum -lac on the
inside, weighed the same evening and morning : — another coated on
the outside had less ice, and more crystals, and lost a quarter of an ounce
by weight ; and one lined with tinfoil on the inside was of the same
weight evening and morning.
The ice on these dishes was thicker, presented fewer crystals, and
had less air in the interior ; more especially on the one lined with lac
on its inside. The brass vessels had less bubbles than the common
dishes, probably from the air flying off as it was detached from the
water, as it had less hold on the smooth surface ; and on the two lined
on the inside the ice was easily detached from the plates.
The application of these results to the explanation of the manner in
which ice is formed in Bengal becomes sufficiently evident. The influ-
ence of the soil and the elevation of the dry ground, its inland situation
and free exposure to the sky, and the quantity of dry straw presenting
a large mass of a bad conductor of heat, which penetrates but a short
way into it during the day* ; — and as soon as the sun descends below
the horizon this large and powerfully radiating surface is brought into
action upon the thin porous vessels, — themselves powerful radiators.
The night air descends to the earth's surface by the removal of the
heating cause, and deposits a portion of its moisture upon the power-
fully radiating and therefore cold surface of the straw and the large
moist surface of the dishes. The cold dry north-west breeze of the day
dries the ground, and declines towards the night into moderate airs,
which pass slowly over the dishes and prevent the accumulation of
caloric on their surface from the deposition of moisture.
The combined influence of the above agents seem sufficiently power-
ful to account for the degree of cold required for forming ice, as the
above experiments appear to me to prove.
• I hare strong reasons for believing that electricity has a considerable influence
on the formation of ice, but I hare not had sufficient opportunities of investigating
this important point, which I must leave to form the subject of another communi-
cation.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833 .] Asiatic Society. 9 1
VII. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, 90th February, 1883.
George Swinton, Esq. in the Chair.
After the Minutes of the last meeting had been read, the Society
proceeded to ballot for Colonel John Briggs, Dr. J. N. Casanova, and
Rev. John Macqueen proposed on that occasion, who were unanimously
elected Members.
Sir Benjamin Malkin, Recorder of Penang, proposed by Sir £. Ryan,
seconded by Mr. J. Prinsep, was upon the favorable report of the Committee
of Papers, elected an Honorary Member.
The Secretary announced, that the Committee of Papers had, upon the
authority of the resolution at the last meeting, disposed of two notes, value
Rupees 5,500, for the liquidation of the debts standing against the Society.
The Secretary also reported, that in consequence of new arrangements
made by him as Editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society, he trusted
that he should in future be able to supply that work gratis to the
members of the Society. Mr. W. H. Macnaghten remarked that no
notification had been circulated to the members acquainting them with
the resolution of the 7th March, and giving them the opportunity of pos-
sessing the Journal then allowed to be published under its auspices ; he
thought that such notice should be issued both with reference to the former
volume, and to the future numbers; and it was ordered accordingly.
The Secretary explained to the meeting, that Mr. Wilson, previous to his
departure, had reported to Government the completion of Mr. Csoma de
KoroV Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary, and had offered to take the
manuscripts to England for publication ; but that the Honorable the Vice-
President in Council, being of opinion that the works might more appro,
priately be published in this country, under Mr. Csoma's own eye, Mr.
Wilson had made them over to the Society. He had therefore followed up
the subject by a second application to Government on the 30th January, to
which the following reply had just been received :
To James Prinsep, Esq. Secretary to the Asiatic Society.
Sir,
I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated the 30th ultimo,
reporting the inability of the Society to defray any part of the expense which will
attend the publication of Mr. Csoma de Kfiros' works.
2nd. In reply, I am directed to acquaint you, with reference to the concluding
paragraph of your letter, that it was intended by Mr. Swinton's letter to Mr. Wil-
son under date the 27th ultimo, to intimate that Government would take upon it-
self the expense of the publication of Mr. Csoma de Kords' works, and I am now
directed to acquaint you, that the Right Honorable the Governor General in Coun-
cil will be happy to sanction the estimate furnished in your letter.
N 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
M Proceedings of the [Fb*.
3rd. It is obviously desirable that the work should have the benefit of the learned
author's superintendence during its progress through the press, and His Lordship
in Council trusts, that it may be entered upon immediately. I am further directed
to tender to yourself the acknowledgments of Government for the valuable assist*
ance you have offered on your own part.
I have, &c. dec
(Signed) W. H. MacNaohtbw,
Ofg. Chief Secy, to Governm e nt .
Council Chamber, 12th February, 1833.
The Secretary stated that arrangements had accordingly been made with
the Baptist Mission Press, to commence upon the Tibetan Grammar and
Dictionary immediately.
Read, a letter from Mr. W. Twining, Secretary to the Medical Society,
acknowledging the receipt of the 1st volume of the Journal of the Asiatic
Society, and vol. xvii. of the Researches.
Library*
The following books were presented :
3rd vol. of Flora Mica, or Description of Indian Plants, by the late
Wm. Roxburgh, M. D. F. R. S. Sec. &c. — by Copt. James Roxburgh, m
the part of himself and brother, Editors of the work.
Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 1830, 31, and 39— oy the Society*
The following works,— by their author Sir J. F. W. HerscheL
On the Separation of Iron from other Metals.
On a New Method of Computing OccuHations of the Fixed Stars.
An account of Observations made with a twenty-feet Reflecting T elescop e ss
the years 1826-27-28-30, on the Parallax of the Fixed Stars.
An account of Determining the Difference of Meridians.
Herschel's Micrometrical Measures.
Ditto's Account of the Repetition of M. Arago's Experiments.
Humboldt's Fragment de Geologic — By the author.
Vaillant's Numismata Imperatomm Romanorum, 3 vols, and
Agostini on Medals, 1 vol. — by C. R. Prnuep, Esq.
Nob. 54, 55, 56 of the Jour, of the Asiatic Society of Paris.— By the Society*
Meninski, Thesaurus Linguarum Orientalium, 3 vols, and
Federici Borronuei Thesaurus, 1632, vols. 4.— by Baboo Ramcomal Sen.
A complete copy of the Calcutta Journal, bound in quarto, — by the
Secretary.
Essai sur le Madar (Calotropus Madarii),— by J. N. Casanova, Esq.
A copy of " Vidvunmoda Tarunginee," by Maha Raja KaWcissen Bahadur.
A copy of the New Testament and the P r salms of David, translated into
the Malagasy language, at the Missionary establishment of Tananarivo,—
by C. Telfair, Esq. President of the Nat. Hist. Soc. Mauritius.
Meteorological Registers for December, 1832, and January, 1833.— £y As
Surveyor General.
Digitized by
Google
183$.] Asiatic Society. M
Lacdner*s Cabinet Cyclopedia — Chemistry I ▼eL— rscetaai /tw» tte
Pfcyneafc
Read a letter from Mr. G. Swinton, communicating correspondence be*
tween Mr. Robison, Sec Ed. Roy. Society, and several paper manufacturers,
on the subject of the Nipal Paper Stuff.
The experiments tried by the paper manufacturers at home upon the dried pulp
of the Nipal paper stuff made up into bricks (as described in the Journal, 1st vol.
page 10,) and sent home by Mr. O. Swinton in 1831, do not seem to have been
at all successful. The specimens furnished by Mr. C. Cowan to Mr. Robison
possess neither the softness nor toughness of the paper manufactured in the valley
itself, according to the methods detailed by Mr. Hodgson. They are brittle and
stiff ; transparent, as if impregnated with varnish, and full of gritty brown spots.
The colour of the specimen marked " strongly bleached" is still far from being of
a good white. It took about 10 lbs. of strong dry chloride of lime, and two lbs. of
sulphuric acid, to bleach 90 lbs. of the material, being four or five times as much
as is necessary with ordinary stuff, and the texture was doubtless injured thereby.
It retained the water very obstinately on the sieve, and shrank remarkably on dry-
ing. The thin sheets made in Nipal and sent home in 1829, by Mr. Swinton, were
on the contrary exceedingly tough, flexible, though not quite white ; they more re-
sembled what is called " India paper," and took the minute impression of a bank
note plate with perfect fidelity.
Mr. Charles Cowan mentions in his notes on working-up the stuff, that it was
found to be as tough as any material with which he was acquainted, which proves
that it ■mat have deteriorated since. The value of the cakes was estimated by this
manu f a c t ur er at £6 to 8 per ton, or if fit for cartridge paper, at nearly double. No
hopes were entertained of turning it to any more refined purpose.
Read a letter from the same Member on the subject of the Gurjan or
wood-oil procured in the forests of the Tenasserim provinces, a large quan-
tity of which he had also transmitted to the Sec of the Ed. Roy. Society, to
ascertain its value in the English market.
This oil is in general use among the natives here for mixing with colors, and is
chiefly imported from Chittagong, but it would appear on Major Burney's authority
to be still more abundantly produced in the Tavoy district, and at much less cost \
the bazar price in Calcutta averaging about 9 or 10 rupees per maund, whereas at
Tavey it may be procured at about one-fourth that price. Both in India and in
England it has been found to be a good substitute for linseed oil, for outside work,
especially in light colors, being worth for this purpose about jf 12 to 15 per ton.
Mr. Dowie, a currier of Edinburgh, read a paper before the Ed. Society of Arts,
on the mode of applying this vegetable oil alone or mixed with tallow to the pre-
paration of leather for shoes, and he considers it as far preferable to fish oil : this
application is quite new, and at Mr. Swinton's suggestions some similar trials have
since been made in Calcutta, by Mackenzie and Macfarlan, with success. The
leather absorbs a great deal of the oil, and the specimens presented to the Society
appear to be very soft and tough.
Major Burney describes the tree whence the Garjan oil is extracted, as forming
large forests in Tavoy, growing- to a great height and size j its native name is Ka-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
94 Proceedings of the [Fib.
niyen ; the flag-staff at Moulmein, 92 feet high, is formed of a single Kaniyen tree.
Mr. Maingy says, that the oil is much improved by boiling, which gives it drying
properties ; be has often used it for boats, and has found it excellent in preparing
tarpauling. The inhabitants of Tavoy and Mergui do not burn earth-oil like other
Burmese, but torches made of this wood-oil and touch wood. The imports into
Calcutta for the last three years were as follows :
In 1829 30, Bazar maunds 759, Average price 7 8
1830-31, 914, 6 4
1831-32, 1708, 7 2
Read a letter from Dr. F. W. Malcolmson, Mad. Euro. Reg. Hyderabad,
announcing that he had fallen in with a box of Dr. Voysey's Geological spe-
cimens, which he should forward to Calcutta by the first opportunity.
" Among them are two fossil bones (of which he sends drawings) — descriptions
and localities may be found in Dr. V.'s. papers. Fig. 1 is part of one of the long
bones of a mammiferous animal (probably a goat or deer) ; its fibrous structure is
very distinct, and presents fine yellow veins when cut and polished : internally the
remains of the ridges to which the concellated structure was attached are visible.
Fig. 2 is one end view of the same filled with a reddish earth, common near some
of the granite rocks in the neighbourhood, and it is filled with small pieces of felspar.
It is mineralized with the carbonate and a little phosphate of lime. All the other
stones appear to have been collected in this district, and there can be no doubt of
the locality from which this was obtained."
Dr. Malcolmson also sends the drawing of a chambered univalve fossil
shell, in a white limestone, found among Dr. Voysey's collections.
Read a letter from William Onslow, Esq. C. S. dated Futtehpoor, 6th
December, begging the Society's acceptance of some old Roman coins dug
up upon his father's estate in England.
The sixty-one coins transmitted consist chiefly of the tmaU bran of Constantine,
among which are some of URBS ROMA and URBS CONSTANTINOPOLIS : mlao
two of the Antonines, two of Dotnitian, one of Tetricus ; the rest are in so decayed
a state as not to be decypherable.
Read a letter from Lieut. A. Burnes, dated Bombay 26th Jan. announ-
cing that he had dispatched for the Society some Bactrian coins, collected in
his recent journey to the Oxus : also some belemnites and other fossil shells
from the deserts.
Specimens of copper ore from Nellore were presented on the part of
Mr. Kerr.
The mines appear to lie to the northward of the Pennar river, 36 9 N. N. W. of
Nellore and 37° W. from the sea, near a village called Ganypenia in Arrowsmith's
Map.
The copper ore prevails over a considerable tract of country — it consists of ma-
lachite, and of black anhydrous oxide of copper with red and yellow ochre imbed-
ded in micaceous schist. Mr. Kerr points out that the ore differs from the English
coppers essentially, in being free from iron pyrites and other deteriorating ingre-
dients, as lead, antimony, sulphur, &c. which make that ore difficult to purify,
whereas the Nellore ore becomes quite pure by simple smelting. The specimen of
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18*0 Asiatic Society. 95
reduced metal sent with the ores it of a very fine color and highly malleable.
Doctor Thompson, 20 years ago, analyzed the ore and found it to contain,
carbonic acid, 167
black oxide copper, 60.75
red oxide iron, 19,5
silica and loss, 3,05
100
Poor different varieties examined by the Secretary contained from 13 to 47 per
cent of red oxide of iron and silex. The appearance of the ore 3eems to promise
ample success to those who hare engaged in the working of these mines.
Specimens of the copper ore of Nipal were presented by the Resident
Mr. B. H. Hodgson.
This ore is a sulphuret of copper, mixed with s large proportion of ferruginous
sulphuret.
A stuffed albatross, presented by Mr. J. Kyd on the part of Captain
Henry Hutchinson of the Ship Lord Wm. Bentinck.
Some fossil bones supposed to belong to the Drenti or the Dodo, from the
Isle of France, presented by C. Telfair, Esq.
Also a specimen of the silk produced from the Madagascar worm, by the
*me gentleman.
Thn nSk is reported by competent judges in Calcutta to be " well reeled in the
Italian method— the thread is harsh, uneven, and gouty, of 14 or 16 cocoons. The
iperimen appears old and damaged."
1 of the Scinais Bqjerii and the S. Boutonn (J. Desj.), and the
*?wfc de 1*1. Maurice, preserved in spirits ; also some fossil bones of the
turtle discovered in an estate at Flacq, in the Mauritius. By Mens.
J. Desjardins.
A letter was read from Monsieur Desjardins, Secretary to the Mauritius
Society, presenting to the Asiatic Society, manuscript copies of 24 notes,
manoirs, descriptions, &c composed by himself, on various subjects of na-
tural history. Several of them have been published in the scientific jour-
nals of Europe.
TT»e first two papers relate to the organization of the Society for the study of
naniral history in the island, to which allusion was made in the journal, vol. i. 157.
There are also the rules and the report of the third anniversary meeting, (we have
•heady received the two former reports.) Of Monsieur Desjardins' contributions
to natural history, the following list will give the most nattering proof.
Sar one couleuvre prise vivante a Tile Maurice, 1829.
Description physique del'Ile d'Ambre, 1829.
Ditto de la Becasse de Maurice.
Ditto d'une caverne situle a la riviere du rempart, 1829.
Ditto des mammif£res de Tile Maurice.
Ditto des 20 oiseaux de Madagascar.
Sar aae annelide du genre Erpobdelle, (L*m.)
Digitized by
Google
^6 Asiatic Society. [F*n.
Sur troU especes de Uzard du genre sdnque.
6ur un tandree de Madagascar.
Sur trois especes d'echassiers (grail*) de do.
Sur one coucou pris a Tile de France.
Sur quelquea poissons de la cote N. O. de Sumatra 1831.
Description d'un oiseau (scolopax totanus glottti) , 1829, dec. dee.
Literary.
Mr. Telfair also transmitted by the same opportunity a variety of maim,
script essays by Mr. Baker and others, connected with the literature of
Madagascar, besides the Missionary publications already noticed.
1. Translation of the fable of the alligator and hedge-hog.
2. Ditto of a song con cerning the dead.
3. On the ordeal of the Tanglna.
4. Sur lea maladies epidemiques de Madagascar.
Portions of some of these papers were read.
Beeobed, that the last paper be made overto the Medical Society, and that
the best thanks of the Society be given to the President and Secretary of
the Mauritius Natural History Society.
Thanks were also voted for the other contributions of the evening.
After the business of the evening was concluded, Mr. W. Maonaobiw
begged to remind the meeting that this might be the last occasion in which
they would enjoy the society of the gentleman who now occupied the chair,
in this country— nay perhaps for ever ! He had seen his friend m the morn-
ing overwhelmed with the fatigues of preparation for embarkation on the
morrow, and little thought it possible for him to attend to other engage,
ments ; but his ardent zeal for the cause of literature and science had urged
him to devote the very last moment of his residence in this land to the In-
stitution with which he had been connected so long. For the affection
and interest thus manifested to the last, the gratitude of himself and
of his brother members was most due, — and for the modesty which had
marked his services to the Society, and which alone had prevented his rising
long since to the highest dignity it could bestow. From the time of his
quitting college, Mr. Swinton had been distinguished as an Orientalist, and
his unimpeachable conduct had marked him as one of the brightest orna-
ments of the Civil Service. Mr. Swinton, he knew, would wish him to spare
such eulogium in his presence, but it would be unjust in him and in the
Society to allow their associate to quit them without testifying their amrMHM
solicitude for his safe and happy return to bis native land.
Mr. Swinton returned thanks for this expression of feeling on the part of
his associates, which he attributed rather to their partiality than to his merits.
He had always felt the warmest interest in the Society, and had endeavour,
ed to contribute to its success, whenever an opportunity occurred. He could
but now for the last time tender his sincerest wish for its lasting fame and
prosperity, and once more returning his best thanks, he bade them farewefl.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1633.] Catalogue of the Mammalia, *c. 97
VIII. — Systematically arranged Catalogue of the Mammalia and Birds
belonging to the Museum of the Asiatic Society , Calcutta. By Dr. W.
Warlow.
MAMMALIA.
Ord. Carnassiers.
Fam. Cheiroptera. Gen. Galeopithecus.
Gdtopttkeeu* vulgari*. The Colugo.
Fam. Insectivora. Gen. Sorex.
Sorts yiganteus, Geoff. Indian Shrew.
Fam. Carnivora. Tribe Plantigrada. Gen. Ictides.
Ictidet ater. This specimen was presented to the Society by Col. Farquhar under
the title of long-tailed Bear of Malacca, and has been described by Sir S. Raffles
ss the " Benturong" in the 13th vol. of the Transactions of the Linnaean Society.
Sir Stamford is incorrect in his enumeration of the molar teeth, which are not
fix on each side in both jaws ; there being six in the upper and only five in the
lower. In every other particular his description corresponds. The exact num-
ber of teeth in Ictides I am unacquainted with. Baron Cuvier's account would
lead me to the supposition that there are six in each jaw, as in Procyon, whilst
I find in the Bulletin Universel, that the teeth are 18 in number in each jaw,
namely six incisors, two canines, and 10 molars. There can be no doubt of the
identity of the specimen with the Ictides ater of Frederick Cuvier, though it
may be necessary to separate the latter from the species with which it has been
generically connected.
Tribe Digitigrada. Gen. Lutra.
iMtn aatr, F. Cuvier, Indian Otter.
Gen. Viverra.
Vkerra Bengalenri*, Hardw.
Gen. Felie.
Atif /htfet, Pearson.
Fptft carat, a variety of the common cat ?
Ord. Marsupialia.
Fam. Dasyuride. Gen. Thylacinus.
Thflcdnus striatue. Zebra Thylacine. Didelphis cynocephalus, Harris.
Ord. Rodentia.
Gen. Rhizomys, Gray.
ROzomys SttmatrensU. Bambu Rat, Raffles. This specimen has also been described
by Sir S. Raffles, and from his description, Mr. Gray has referred it to his new
genus Khizomys, adding however a note of interrogation as to the correctness of
die location. It certainly does belong to the genus, but it would be very desir-
able that a specimen should be sent to Mr. Gray, especially as it is by no means
clear that it may not be identical with his R. ChinenHe.
Gen. Hystrix, Subg. Atherina.
Atkermafuciculata. Brush* tailed Porcupine.
Ord. Edentata.
Gen. Manis.
Mmu pentadactyU. The short-tailed Pangolin.
Digitized by
Google
98
Catalogue of the Museum [Fm
Ord. Monotrema.
Gen, Echidna.
Echidna Hystrix. Porcupine Echidna.
Ord. Ruminantia.
Gen. Moschus.
Moschus Javanicus. The Kautchil.
Gen. Bos.
Bos Bufalus. 1 Monstrous specimens of the Ox and Buffalo.
— Taurus. J _ „
Ord. Cetacea.
Gen. Delphinorhychus.
Delphinorhychus Gangeticus. Indian Dolphin.
BIRDS.
Ord. II. Incebsores.
Tribus 1. Fissirostres.
I. Fam. Meropida. Gen. Merops.
Merops viridis. Indian Bee- Eater.
Gen. Alcedo.
Alcedo Bengalensis. Indian Kingfisher.
Gen. Halcyon.
Halcyon SmyrnensU. Smyrna Kingfisher.
Gen. Dacelo.
Dacelo gigantea. Great Brown Kingfisher.
Tribus 2. Dentirostres.
I. Fam. Muscicapidae. Gen. Muscipeta.
Muscipeta cctrulea. Azure Fly-catcher.
II. Fam. Laniadae Subf. Dicrurina. Gen. Dicrurus.
Dicrurus macrocercus.
III. Fam. Merulidas Subf. Oriolina. Gen. Oriolus.
Oriolus Melanocephalus.
IV. Fam. Sylviadae. Gen. Jora.
Jora Scapular is.
Gen. Accentor.
Accentor modularis ?
V. Fam. Pipridaj. Gen. Parus.
Parus cristatus. Crested Titmouse.
Tribus 3. Subf. Alaudina. Gen. Alauda.
Alauda cristata. Crested Lark.
Gen. Emberiza.
Emberiza Bengalensis.
III. Fam. Covid«. Subf. Gen. Barita.
Barita Destructor.
. Tibicen.
Subf. Corvina. Gen. Pica.
Pica vagabunda. The Rufous Crow.
Subf. Coraciana. Gen. Coracias.
Coracias Bengalensis. Bengal Roller.
V. Fam. Loxiadae. Gen. Cocothraustes.
Cocothraustes vulgaris. Common Grosbeak.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Of the Asiatic Society. 99
TVibut 5. Scan sores.
II. Fam. Psittacids Sub/. Psittacina. Gen. Psittacus.
Priitacus erythrocephalue. The grey Parrot or Jaco.
Subf. Palaeornina. Gen. Nanodes.
Nanode* pulcheliut. The Turcosine Parrakeet.
Gen. Platycercus.
Platycemu exhnius. Nonpareil Parrakeet.
Gen. Palsornis.
PateornuJUnirostris. Yellow-colored Parrakeet.
erythrocephahu. Blossom-headed Parrakeet.
III. Fam. Picadae. Gen. Bucco.
Bneeo PktUppensi*. Yellow-throated Barbet.
Gyanops, Cuv.
Gen. Picus.
Picut tiridit. Green Woodpecker.
tiga. Horsfield.
IV. Fam. Certhiadae. Gen. Upupa.
Ujntpa Epopt. The Hoopoe.
V. Fam. Cuculidae. Gen. Cuculus.
Cuculus Orientate.
Coromandu*. Colored Cuckoo.
Gen. Centropus.
Centroput Philtppemit. Philippine Cuckow.
Qigat ?
Tribua 5. Tenuirostres.
V. Fam. Meliphagidae. Gen. Melitneptus, (Vieill.)
Metitreptu* Nova Holandue.
Gen. Orcadion, Vieill.
Orcadian canmeulatut. Wattled Bee-eater, Lath.
Gen. Prinia, Horsf.
Priniafamiliari*.
Ord. III. R a sores.
I. Fam. Columbids. Gen. Treron, (Vinago, Cw.)
Treron miHtaru. Saint Thomas' Pigeon. The Green Pigeon.
II. Fam. Phasianids. Gen. Tragopan, Cuv.
Tragopan Satyrus. The Nipal Pheasant.
III. Fam. Tetraonids. Gen. Perdix.
Perdix Chukar, Gray. Chukar Partridge.
Gen. Ortygis.
OrtygU Pugnax. The fighting Quail.
Ord. IV. Grallatorzs.
II. Fam. Ardeida. Gen. Platalea.
Pbtdea lencorodia. The SpoonbUl.
Gen. Ciconia.
<%*** leucocephala. The Violet Stork, or Manikjore of the Natives.
Gen. Ibis.
IfafalcineUus. The Green Ibis.
o 2
Digitized by
Google
100 Indian Natural History. [Fib.
IV. Fam. RaHidss. Gen. Parr*.
Parra Melanochloris. Indian Jacana.
Chinensis. Chinese Jacana.
— Africana ?
Gen. Porphyrio.
Porphyrio Tndicus. Indian Porphyria.
Gen. Crex.
Crex porzana. Spotted Gallinule.
III. Fam. Scolapacide. Gen. Totanus.
Totanus Glottis. Green-shank Snipe.
V. Fam. Charadriads. Gen. Vanellui.
Vanelhu macroptera, Cuv. V. Tricolor, Horsf.
Gen, Charadriua.
Charadrius morine litis. The Dottrel.
Gen. Himantopus.
Himantopus melanopterus, Tem. Long-legged Plover.
Ord. V. Natatorks.
I. Fam. Anatids. Gen. Clangula.
Clangula Histrionica. Harlequin Duck.
Gen. Fulgula.
Fulgula rufina. Red-crested Pochard.
Gen. Marcia.
Marcia cana (et Casarca), Brown. Grey-headed Goose. The Brahminee Duck.
arcuata. Anas Sili, Ham.
Gen. Querquedala.
Querquedula Crteca. Common Teal.
IV. Fam. Pelecanidc. Gen. Phalacrocorax.
Phalaeroeoras vulgaris. The Cormorant.
V. Fam. Laridae. Gen. Sterna.
Sterna Hirundo. The Great Tern.
Gen. Diomedea.
Diomedea esmlans. Wandering Albatross.
I am aware that in the preceding list there are a few omissions and there may be
some errors, but I have not at present the opportunity of correcting the one or
supplying the other. The list should also have comprised the reptiles, of which
the Museum contains some very fine specimens.
IX. — European Notices of Indian Natural History.
1. — The Dugono.
The animal sent home preserved in spirits by Mr. G. Swinton, in 1830, to
Mr. J. Robibon, Secretary of the Edinburgh Royal Society, was delivered over to
Dr. Knox, for dissection. That eminent anatomist writes to Mr. Robison in the
following terms :
" This very splendid gift to science can be appreciated only by those who, having
visited inter- tropical climates and warm countries, generally know well the extreme
difficulty of procuring, preserving, and transmitting specimens such as the Dugong,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Indian Natural History. 1 1
which you have now received from Mr. S winton, and which you have done me the
honor to place in my hands for examination and dissection.
It may not perhaps be altogether uninteresting to that gentleman to be informed,
that two portions of the animal have arrived and have been examined, though in
& ray cursory way, by me ; the shortness of the day and darkness of our climate
daring the winter months forbidding all attempts at more minute inquiry for the
present. These portions are, the head and upper or anterior part of the trunk,
including the arms, and seemingly the pyoid bones with the connected soft parts.
This portion seems in excellent condition, and will no doubt afford ample scope for
dissection ; the details of which, together with illustrative sketches, I shall so soon
as they are properly arranged and finished, put into your hands, in order to be trans-
mitted to Mr. S winton, this being the very smallest return we can make for his so
great kindness in transmitting the specimen.
The other portion is the posterior part of the vertebral column and tail • but the
middle portion, containing all the viscera, I have not yet seen. It will be readily
understood by every anatomist and naturalist, and I hope also by Mr. Swinton,
that this division of the animal into three portions was the greatest misfortune
which cooki have happened, since it involved the cutting across so many important
parts, the division of all the great vessels and nerves, the displacement of almost
aQ the organs, and the destruction of many ; so that it is not to be concealed, that
the ralue of the specimen has been incalculably diminished. It would I fear
be presuming too much to hope that the Dugong might one day reach us entire,
m a food state and untouched; inasmuch as the difficulty of procuring these
animals is very great, and when taken would require to be immediately placed in a
cask of ardent spirits, and carefully enclosed. But however this may be, I shall
bestow every pains in my power to make the most of those portions which have
already come to hand, and beg to return you and to the Royal Society my thanks
for having placed at my disposal an anatomical specimen deemed by me of so great
nine."
2. — Nepal Specimens.
[Extract from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Jan. 24, 1832.]
William Yarrell, Esq. in the Chair.
" Specimens were exhibited of various Mammalia and Birds, collected in Nepal by
B. H. Hodgson, Esq. Corr. Merab. Z. S., British Resident at Katmandoo. For
this exhibition, the Committee was indebted to the kindness of Dr. N. Wallich,
to whom the skins had been transmitted by Mr. Hodgson.
The Mammalia included specimens of a new species of Felts, L. ; of two Ante-
fepet, one the Chiru and the other new to science ; and of the wild Dog of Nepal.
They were accompanied by colored figures, and, except in the instance of the
latter*, by accounts of the several animals from the pen of Mr. Hodgson. These
accounts were read.
The new species of FeUs is described as the Moormi Cat, a name derived from
that of the tribe which inhabits the part of the hills in which the animal was taken.
It was entirely unknown to the natives, and had consequently no local name. It
nay be thus characterizedt.
11 This account will be found to be supplied in the 2nd pi Trans. Phys. CI. As. Soc.
+ Mr. Hodgson's description is given in the Gleanings, iii. p. 177.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 02 Indian Natural History. [Feb .
The only specimen of this species which Mr. Hodgson has been able to p roc ur e
was a fine mature male, sent to him alive, about two years back, by the Prime
Minister of Nepal ; it was accompanied by an intimation that the animal presented
to him was the first of the kind ever taken, the people of the country having been
by its capture first apprized of its existence in Nepal. It was caught in a tree by
some hunters in the midst of an exceedingly dense forest, situated in about the Lati-
tude of the great valley : the habitat of the species may therefore be presumed to
be the central part of these mountains, or that portion which lies equidistant from
the snows of the Himalaya and the hot plains of Hindustan. Though only just
taken when it was brought to Mr. Hodgson, it bore confinement very tranquilly,
and gave evident signs of a tractable disposition and cheerful unsuspicious temper ;
so much so as to convince that gentleman that a judicious attempt at taming it
must succeed. None such, however, was made, and when the animal, after six
months confinement, died of disease, it was still, of course, unreclaimed from its
wild state of manners and temper ; in which state it manifested considerable fero-
city and high courage, the approach to its cage of the huge Bhoteah Dog exciting
in it symptoms of wrath only — none of fear.
In a note appended to his description of this second new species of Felts from
Nepal, Mr. Hodgson refers to that of the Fel. Nepaleneie, published by Messrs.
Horsfield and Vigors, in the ' Zoological Journal,' vol. iv. p. 383. The ground-
colour of this latter animal is there described as " grey, with a very slight admix-
ture of tawny ;" whereas in five specimens possessed by Mr. Hodgson, the tawny
prevails over the grey to such an extent that the tawny should be regarded as the
ground-colour in the mature animal of both sexes. One adult male is almost as
brightly tinted as a Leopard : the females are paler than the males. He adds that
the common species of wild Cat is frequently met with in Nepal of the fullest
European size, and so like to the Occidental type as not even to constitute a
variety."
The new species of Antelope distinguished by Mr. Hodgson as the Bubalme
Antelope, has been already made known to our readers*.
The skin of the wild Dog of Nepal was compared by Col. Sykes with a specimen
of the KoUun of the Mahrattas, recently described by him in the ' Proceedings,'
(Part 1. p. 100,) under the name of Canis Dukhunensi*. He stated his impression
to be, that the animals are identical, differing only by the denser coat and more
woolly feet of the Nepal race, a difference readily accounted for by the greater cold
of the elevated regions inhabited by it. He declined, however, pronouncing a
decided opinion, which, he thought, could only be arrived at by more extensive
comparison, and by a full acquaintance with the habits of the wild Dog of NepAL
Among the Birds contained in Mr. Hodgson's collection was exhibited a speci-
men of the Hamatornis undulatus, a species described in the first part of the Pro-
ceedings of the Committee, p. 170, and figured in Mr. Gould's ' Century of Birds.'
The specimen agreed accurately with that which had been previously exhibited to
the Committee, except in size ; the present specimen being about one-third larger.
From this difference in size it was conjectured to be a female. Specimens were also
in the collection of the Myophonta Temminckii, the difference between which spe-
cies and the Myophonus flavirostris (metallic**, Temm.) had been pointed out in
* Vide Gleanings, iii. 132.
Digiti
zed by GoOgk
1 533 .] Indian Natural History. 1 03
tae same part of the ' Proceedings/ p. 171. The separation of the two species was
thus further justified by the accurate accordance of several specimens of the NepA-
lese bird, in those characters which separated them from the Archipelagan species.
A specimen of Zoothera monticolo was also included in the exhibition, which de-
rated in no respect from that already described in the • Proceedings,' p. 172, and
figured by Mr. Gould.
An interesting species of Hornbill, which has been described by Mr. Hodgson in
tfee ' Asiatic Researches,' vol. xvii. p. 178, but which had never before been seen in
Europe, accompanied the former birds.
Among some drawings of this species which accompanied the collection, one was
observed in which the tail was elevated in the same manner, although not to the
same extent, as in the Toucan* of South America when at rest. Mr. Vigors called
the attention of the Committee to this peculiarity in the Toucans, which he had
ascertained from a living bird in his own collection, and which he described in the
* Zoological Journal,' vol. ii. p. 480, pi. xv. And he dwelt on the additional proof
thus afforded of affinity between these two families of the Old and New World,
which are equally allied by the most important characters of their structure.
A male and female Pheasant were also exhibited from the collection, which
appeared to be the species described by Dr. Latham under the name of Phasianus
letscomeiawos, (Ind. Orn. ii. 633.) Mr. Vigors pointed out the difference between
this species and the Phasianus albo-cristatus, which he had described in the first
part of the ' Proceedings,' p. 9. This difference consisted in the deep black colour
of the crest in the Phas. leucometanos ; in the lanceolated feathers of the under
part of the body extending no further than the breast ; and in the plumes of the
lower part of the back being doubly fasciated, by a slender violet-black band in
the first instance near the apex, and secondly by a slender white apical band. In
the Phas. atbo-cristatus, on the contrary, the crest is white, with a somewhat
dusky base ; the lanceolated feathers on the under body extend over the abdomen ;
and the feathers on the lower part of the back are fasciated with one rather broad
white apical band, without any vestige of the black violet markings observed in
the other species. Mr. Vigors added, that these two species, together with the
Phas. Imeatus of Dr. Latham, exhibited to the Committee on the 11th Jan. of last
year, and described in the ' Broceedings* of that date, p. 24, as well as the fire-
hacked Pheasant, Phasianus ignitus, Lath., formed a group among the Pheasants,
which appeared intermediate between the typical birds of that family and the genus
Gatins, or Jungle Fowl. This group, distinguished by their crests, and by the tail
partaking equally of the elevated character of that of the Jungle Fowl, and the
recumbent character of that of the Pheasant, had been set apart by MM. Tem-
mlnck and Cuvier under the name of Houppiferes, and by the former naturalist
under the scientific name of Euplocamus.
The only species apparently u ad escribed in the collection was the following Pigeon,
which Mr. Vigors expressed his pleasure in having it in his power to dedicate to
the enterprising and scientific discoverer.
Columba Hodgsonii. Col. capite colloque pallidi, dorso crissoque intensihs
vmaceo-griseis ; alis, regione htterscapulari, abdomineque vinaceo-brunneis, hoc
a/do variegato ; scapularibus albo guttatis ; nuchd vinaceo-brunneo notatd ; remi-
gibus rectricibusque, his intensius, fuscis ; guld albescenti-grised ; pedibus satu-
rail c^eruleis, unguibus flavis.
Longitudo corporis, 15 unc.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
104
Meteorological Register.
[Feb. 1833/
CO
CO
00
•S,
cS
6
S
J*
•2
*
=i
a
3
u
5 6
6
I*
la
•8uiu3a'3
•nootf
•3uiiuoiv
■iJuiua.va
■uooM
■Scnuioft
•saqjuj
.4
2/
£-gS gB^iS-S a^fl-SSS S S 3-S g^Z-o-c-o
I .
■S « c * C •* ■
o d d d .d*66o«;ddddd6^dcrfdrf4d*^
S5SS88&88&&8S8S8S&38Sa5XSSSS&f:aS
^ssfggs^ssaass^^sassfesssgsa&s
tunuiiuiK
86fe88SSS8feR8888«8«88RK8RRfeR»:
i|PJ|||lI|ll|l|gfe|f;3I|Illil
•muoui
am jo Xbq
S3g§SiS3iiiis§§iiiaiiiiiisis
■"«»««*-«* = ;: -*2::2£S2285;8!SJ3S$&S
Ms ■♦ to cd «i !C "f c "occd-vtocTs^rt «£© » VrJt-C*C|4aeooaiooc> oo jE o
»C«ttn l NMCCC«at()Wf!E?J*!CC«»jWS«tsK^
JT-J — pi d" p5 ol -? oJ cd to ed ■* ■* « ■>» 'ri id V jd ?d g» ten t^ <d f»c*
iiiiisiiiP,siiiS5rais§iEi2Sii 1 « j
" 5 a
-k
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
JOURNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 15— March, 1833.
I. — On the Restoration of the Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory.
By Major Colvin, Engineers. /
[l Ur i t a d from that Offlcert Report to Government at Snparintendant of Canal*.] r'
I. THE CANAL OF FBROZ SHAH.
The original branch of the canals lately re-opened, to the west of the
Jamna, was excavated under Fbroz Shah, about the middle of the
fourteenth century. The neighbourhood of Hissar was his favorite hunt-
ing ground, where he evidently must have passed much time, attended
by his court, if we may judge from the extensive ruins of buildings and
tombs still existing, and occupying a space of several square miles, all
attributed to that period; the advantages of an abundance of good
water for so large an assemblage, in a country of such extreme aridity,
where the wells are 130 feet deep, and the springs often salt, may have
been the principal incentive to this great undertaking.
Probability and tradition point out the head of the original canal to
have been where it now is, immediately at the point where the Jamna
issues from the lower range of hills, and nearly opposite to another
hunting seat of the same emperor, marked in the maps as Bddshdh
Mahal ; from whence it was apparently conducted along one of the many
old water-courses of the Jamna, till it fell into what was then the mouth
of the Sumbe river*. This channel, under the operation of time and
floods now become the western branch of the Jamna, was then probably
* A mountain-torrent nearly dry, except in the rains, when it receives the drain-
age of the mountains south-east of Nahun, and of the plains east of its course, nearly
to the Jawmm, from which and a strong fall, its floods are most violent and sudden
in their effects.
P
Digiti
zed by G00gle
106 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territerf. [Ma**,
of more moderate dimensions, and, to turn the water into the cross-cuts
formed, must have been closed below Fattehgarh, probably by an earthen
dam renewed annually, no remains whatsoever of any permanent work
remaining in that vicinity. By one or other, or all of the channels, the
remains of which now exist, the water was conveyed across a tongue
of land into what is clearly another old channel of the Jamna under
Burya, being a wide hollow, skirting the high ground to its north
and west, which is continuous, though with numerous and deep inden-
tations, from the hills along the right bank of the Sdmbe river, and then
following this water-course as far as Kamdl; towards the hills rising
little short of 100 feet, and sinking south of Kamdl, near Uncka Sumdnd,
(where the canal enters on the high land, and diverges from the Jamna,)
to about 15 feet. Above this point the land on the left bank is
uniformly low, extending to and forming the Kddir land of the
Jamna, a most fertile tract, almost entirely under cultivation, and
from its composition, and the closeness of water to the surface, almost
independent of irrigation.
From Uncha Samdnd, a canal must have been excavated, at first
of great depth, but gradually diminishing as it approached Sufi-
den, near which it opened into a branch of the Chftang river,
said to come from near Teradri by Bardd, a few miles east of
Suffidon*, along which the canal was led with partial excavations, of
which the remains exist, in some places more, in others less, (as would
be the case in clearing out a river bed,) until it rejoined the other
branch of the Chi tang, at Dhdtrat. From Dhdtrat the marks are more
apparent of its having been an ancient river bed, simply cleared out
to pass on a stream of water to Hissar, and a few miles beyond the
latter, apparently with a view to provide an escape for the surplus water
of the canal into the old bed of the river ; as within a few miles of Hissdr
all trace of former excavation ceases, whilst the river bed is continu-
ous ; latterly, winding among the sand hills ofBhikanir, or more property
speaking, along the northern bounds of the sandy desertf, until the
bed unites with that of the Ghagkar river, near Badhopal, and about 22
* Of this branch all I am aware of is, that in heavy seasons of rain great floodi
pour into the canal near BarSd, said to be consequent on the destruction of the
earthen dams of the Chit any.
t The grounds of this remark are, that south of the bed of the ChUtmg the
country is merely a succession of hills, and swells of sand, in some parts rising 200
feet, whilst to the north the sand is chiefly in detached ridges and patches ; the fob-
soil, when it gets clear of the drift sand, being a hard flat, covered with low tree
jungle, totally different from the sandy desert of BhitmUr.
zed by G00gle
im.] The Ancient Canal* in the DeiM Territory. 107
tooth-east of Bhatnfr, whence it has been traced by Mr. W.
Ikisim to open on the valley of the Satlej, north-east of, and about 20
nales from Bakdwalpur ,• thus securing an outlet for the waters, should
men ever be needful : but as the Ghaghar river, which receives the
drainage of the hills from Nihan to Plassia, and generally of the
esuntry between the Jamna and the Satlej, does not in the heaviest
•eason pass in force beyond BhatuCr, no stream by the Chitang is
likely to eflect the junction, and the period when this river ceased to
flow at one is far beyond record, and belongs to the fabulous periods
of. which even tradition is scanty.
It may not be out of place here to advert to the causes which are
even now operating to destroy the utility of the Ghaghar and such
riven, and tending to extend the limits of the desert, which forms our
north-western boundary in this quarter. What the country about and
west of Rdmeah, now inhabited by the Bhatth, has been, may be in-
ferred from the numerous sites of towns and villages scattered over
a tract, where now fixed habitations are hardly to be met with. I allude
only to the vicinity of the bed of the Ghaghar, with which I am per-
sonally acquainted; — when the depopulation took place, I am not prepared
to aay; it must have been long since, as none of the village sites present
one brick standing on another, above ground, — though, in digging be-
neath it, very frequent specimens of an old brick are met with, about
loinchesby 10 inches, and 3 inches thick*, of most excellent quality:
buildings erected of such materials could not have passed away in any
short period. Hie evident cause of this depopulation of the country is the
absolute absence of water, most probably the effect of the system now
in use in the Sikh states, through which all these rivers pass from the
mountains ; — namely, the erection of dams of earth across the streams at
til favorable points, to raise the water so high as to flow over the race
of the country and irrigate it, the surplus escaping by the sides till
stopped by other dams, and so on, it might almost be said, ad infini-
tum.
It will easily be conceived, that in forming this string of lakes, the
consumption of water by absorption and evaporation disposes of the
greater portion, whilst the irrigation takes a very small share, which
could be equally well, though more expensively, drawn off by small
canals from the main stream, leaving the latter open to proceed onward
• Such bricks were all found marked thus % evidently by a revolution of the
tagen extended with the thumb at a centre, and gradually drawn round and up to
the thumb. Similar bricks of an age anterior to the Mahomedan conquest, have
been excarated at HmuL
f 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
108 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [Ma men,
as far as it would go, and such an unincumbered stream would by being
in constant action prevent the accumulation of impediments m the river
bed, which, under the system of damming, have eight months of each year
to accumulate, and in a country liable to drift sand, any vegetation in
the bed is sufficient to collect and stop it, and form banks, which
from the effect of the next rains is spread and deposited in hollows,
gradually raising the bottom, and thereby widening the water way. and
diminishing its power of sweeping clean the channel — an operation which
with an open river would have been constantly going on, as no particle
of water passes onwards without moving somewhat nearer to its final
receptacle some portion of the river silt. In the Ghaghar, the outlet
no longer existing, the operation is that of a gradual filling up from
the tail of the river upwards, and the consequent shortening of the point
to which water reaches from its source. At present the stream in the
dry weather reaches to Dundhal, and it is only in the rains that any
portion of water reaches our provinces when heavy floods sweep along the
bed of the Ghaghar, sometimes as far as Bhatntr, and convert all the
hollows into lakes, which are gradually shoaling, by the amount of silt
in the water filled into them. The bed of the river, thus saturated and
aided by irrigation from the patches of water, yields the most splendid
crops of wheat in the neighbourhood of Rdneah (a space several miles
wide) — a benefit our landholders must lose as the river retrogrades,
but which might be much extended, as was shown the year we occupied
the Bhatti country, when, a number of the lower dams being cut, the
floods of the rains reached and passed Rdneah in abundance, where
they had hardly been for years previously. The most beneficial effect
of insisting on a right to a share of the waters which do not rise in, but
only pass through, the Sikh states, would be in affording a sufficient
supply of water for the nala or canal from the Ghaghar, at Munok,
into it again near Rdneah. The general line of it is shown on the map
passing by Fattehdbdd, and being in a great measure within our frontier,
it would be an extension of the benefits of irrigation from the Ghmgkar
to our own subjects, who now derive so little from the vicinity of what
the acts of our neighbours make but a nominal river nearly. This old
water-course is well defined at its head, and so far open that, in the
rains, the freshes send down a supply of water for the rice cultivation
near Fattehdbdd. Fkboz Shah is said to have made a canal from the
Ghaghar, and it is possible that this is the channel alluded to. The ad-
vantages of its being re-opened (only however after the Ghaghar ri ver
shall have been cleared of dams, for at least 100 miles up) should not
be lost sight of. The only thing further I have to say on the canal of
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1K8J The Jnde*t Canals in the Delhi Territory. 109
Fxmoz Shah is, that as no marks of irrigation channels exist along its
banks, it is natural to suppose no system of extensive irrigation had
tine to take root, and that, with the decease of its founder, it* fell into
neglect, and discontinued flowing ; had it flowed long enough to get up
any system ©f irrigation, the remains of water-courses would not have
been utterly obliterated, whereas there are no traces of them west of
Sa/Mo*.
ALI M ABDAN KHAN's, OB, THE DELHI CANAL.
Whether the above canal continued to have a stream in any part of
its coarse or not, at the time the Delhi branch was thought of, early
in the seventeenth century, does not seem very clearly known ; though
the expression of Ali Mardan Khan " having brought his canal
from Ktmdl to Delhi" would imply that, the original canal still
flowed as far as Kamal, and thence probably into the Jamna, from
the choaking up and neglect of the excavated portion between Karndl
and Sufidon. Anxiety to take advantage of the ancient canal of
Fnoz Shah, so far as suitable in direction, probably induced Ali
Mabdan Kha*n to follow it as far as Madloda, whence turning south,
he would tall in with a natural hollow near Kordna, which is in fact
the head of a great drain of the country ending in the Farkhnagar
JUl, about 15 miles S. W. of Delhi, and this he unfortunately follow-
ed to Gokdng. Thence diverging south-east, he appears to have pursued
a line, the SceJB of which are most prominent from Gohdna to Jatola ;
and thence on, or nearly on, the present line, he made his way to Delhi.
A terrible catastrophe is recorded to have happened on the first trial
of the works, when the water, having got into the deep hollow at
Gohana, could not escape thence by the channel formed, and accu-
mulating, until it overtopped the embankments across this hollow
way, destroyed the town of Ldlpur, of which the extensive ruins still
exist in a low hollow west of the present town of Rhotak. The correc-
tion* of his error appears to have been made with much judgment,
ptasing closely to the natural ridge of the country, where the land
falls off on each side. From Jatola, the departures from his old course
are of less moment ; although, to account for the remains of bits of canal
here and there, he must have made another detour near Bhowdna, where
entering on the low ground between that and the rise on which the city
stands, he had his most difficult task. He appears to have secured him-
self, by an outlet, at the upper end of this dangerous spot, sufficient to
reduce the level of canal materially incase of accident. Ahead of this point
to m a intain the level required in the city and palace, the canal, instead of
* By excavating anew from near Rair to Jatola, - -
Digiti
zed by G00gle
110 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [Mam*,
being sunk in the ground, is carried along an elevated mound, in many
parts of which the bottom rises much higher than the surrounding
country. The lowest portion of this hollow was crossed on an aqueduct
of masonry, under which escapes the surplus water of the Far kknefor
Jhil into the Jamna. The canal, shortly after entering on and
skirting the base of the range of hills west of Delhi (the drainage
from which crosses over the canal by ancient aqueducts), is finally led
directly across the ridge by a channel cut out in the rock, to the depth
o? about 60 feet at the crest. It then enters the city, and passing
through it by an open channel, traverses along another extensive
aqueduct into the palace, throughout the whole of which it ramifies,
in open or covered water-courses, having outlets to the Jamna. thus
permitting the passage of constant streams of fresh water. Similar to
these, in the space between the range of hills and the palace, numer-
ous underground channels were led off to the various residences of the
nobles, and the divisions of the city, yielding to the whole city and its
suburbs a supply of good water, from the open well shafts connected
with these underground water-courses, and necessary to admit of their
being cleared out.
On a review of the ancient works in Delhi, connected with Hie
canal, money must have been expended with a most lavish hand,
to effect what is known; and much is yet hidden in the ruins of
the neighbourhood. The branch thus successfully opened, appears
to have been maintained in a state of efficiency, until the year 1760,
including a supply down the Gohdna branch, and another down a
portion of Fwtozs canal, in which latter the water ceased to flow at
Sufidon about 1740. The decay of the canal was probably gradual;
and final only, when the power of the emperor was too much circum-
scribed, and his attention too much engaged by the perilous circ um s t ances
of his reign, to attend to such matters : to which may be added the gra-
dual increase in size and depth of what was then the western branch
of the Jamna, rendering the annual formation of the earthen dam
across it in time for the irrigation of the crops, a work of more diffi-
culty and labor, than was compensated by the advantages deriv-
ed. During the long period that it did flow, the system of irriga-
tion from its waters appears to have been most extensively diffused,
judging from the multitudes of water-courses which intersect the coun-
try on both banks, from below Karndl to Delhi: the amounts of the
revenue derived from it must however be deemed fobulous, or. must
be misunderstood;-- villages, which have from 12 to 15,000 higaa of
land, being stated to have paid a lakh of rupees a year— a sum about
Digitized by
Google
]».} The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. Ill
eqtisaieat to the gross produce of the land, supposing every part of it
yielded one first-rate crop annually, and that the whole of the lands
were under irrigation, a matter for which the capacity of the canal was
perfectly inadequate. Either the price of produce must have been much
higher then, or the village bounds much more extensive ; or what is
more probable, districts were designated by the names of the principal
towns or villages, and thus the rents stated include the total revenues.
Certainly no such results are now witnessed in villages of the first
magnitude, where irrigation is used to the extent of 1500 Rs. per
ananm for the use of the water. One such village, Bhatgadn, yields
the Begum Sumroo 20,000 rupees a year, I believe ; and another, Susa-
at, pays, I think, to our Government 16,000 rupees. Another, Koran*,
pays about 14,000 rupees, and is one of our finest villages on the ca-
nals, though not so large as others : these villages irrigate extensively*.
THE DOAB CANAL OF ALI MARDAN KHAN.
I am less acquainted with the former history of this canal. It certainly
bears the name amongst others of Ali Mardan Khan, and must therefore
be coeval with the Delhi canal ; but having undergone several reparations
in parts, its names are various. It was originally led from the Jamna
shortly above the ruins of Bddshdh Mahal, along a nala of the Jamna
to the village of Nya Shahr, from which an excavated channel
conducts it into a small mountain-torrent near RaipUr, in which it
proceeds about two miles, and is then led slanting across the beds of
two great mountain-torrents, (the NyagaOn and Maskareh Rao ;) on
getting clear of which, it was led by Sahdranpur, apparently along
the crest of the ridge between the Jamna and Hindan rivers, from the
feeders of the latter leading off from its left or east bank ; whilst it is
ascertained that several hollow ways lead towards the Jamna from its
right bank. In its course from Sahdranpur to near Delhi, there is
nothing particular to notice, beyond the absolute absence of the re-
mains of any trace of ancient bridges or water-courses. Near Delhi, it
descends into the valley of the Jamna, and passing partly direct, and
partly through the grounds of a Royal preserve, it rejoins the Jamna
opposite the city. From the above-mentioned want of traces of ancient
works, I conceive the task of maintaining the passage across the
moomtain-torrents at its head, of which three are first-rate, was found
to be so great, that the canal was abandoned almost as soon as formed,
and that the repeated attempts at reparation afterwards were only
* In theaeanmsl do not pretend to perfect accuracy : they are noted from recoflec-
Afcg/f ftiADd KorAna am two of those stated to hare yielded a lakh of rupees
Digiti
zed by G00gle
11? Restoration of the Canals in the Delhi Territory. [Mabch,
efficient for a season, and were overcome by the increasing difficulties.
Had irrigation existed to any extent, 100 years could not have
obliterated all traces of it ; and had the water flowed for any length of
time, results analogous to what are now experienced elsewhere
would have followed, and must have left a trace behind them. Of the
former condition of this canal, I must therefore content myself with
these inconclusive remarks.
Restoration of the Canals in the Delhi Territory.
The attention of Government seems to have been drawn to the
canals shortly after these provinces came under our dominion. I
have understood the first suggestion was the offer of a gentleman
(Mr. Mercer) to re-open the Delhi canal at his own ex pence, un-
der the engagement of having secured to him the whole benefits
resulting for a period of 20 years, which was not accepted;
and under orders of Government, a survey and design for the work
was completed and submitted for consideration by Lieut. Macajltnkt,
of the Cavalry, in the year 1810; this was further followed up, if not
preceded, by several reports from other officers on the subject ; (Lieut
White of the infantry and Lieut. Fobdycb of the engineers, amongst
the number,) whose reports are lodged in the Chief Secretary's Office :
and the whole subject seems to have elicited such a variety of opinion
from Colonels Kyd, Gabstin, and Colebbookb, either as Surveyors Ge-
neral or Chief Engineers, that the matter seems to have fallen into abey-
ance, until revived during the government of the Marquis of Hast-
ings. In the same year, a survey of the Doab canal was made by
Lieut. Tod, followed up by a notice from Lieut. Hodgson, from which
nothing resulted. The canal of Feroz Shah is merely incidentally
noticed, and appears not to have engaged any attention until the peri-
od of Captain Blank's appointment to the canals. I am unable to give
any special notice of what may be called the preliminary measures,
from the want of records in my office, where nothing further than the
original reports by Lieuts. Macartney and Tod exist.
Restoration of the Delhi Canal, from the Hills to Delhi, 185 miles ta
length.
This subject appears to have early engaged the attention of the Majl-
quis op Hastings, although it was not till the beginning of 1817, that
Lieut. Blanb of the engineers was appointed to conduct the work; his
estimate was framed on the report of Lieut. Macartnbt : although in
the progress of the work, it was found necessary to depart considerably
from the ideas of that officer, in consequence of the changes effected
by the river in this interval. The work was carried on by Lieut. Blane,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] The Ancient Calais in the Delhi Territory. 1 13
with great zeal and in the face of numerous difficulties, and the water
being partially brought down as the work progressed, irrigation com-
menced from it in 1819, and by the end of May, 1820, the water was
brought to the city of Delhi, and passing through the main conduits in
the palace, rejoined the parent stream.
Lieut. Blanb, instead of drawing his supply of water from the
river by any of the old heads near Btirya, or as pointed out by
Iieut. Macartney, from near Daddpdr, (either of which, in the
then state of the case, would have entailed the closing up of what
had become the western branch of the Jamna, either by a per-
manent work eminently liable to destruction, or by an earthen
dam renewed annually, at a great expence and loss of time, besides
the almost certainty of its destruction, from the floods of the cold
weather,) wisely selected the vicinity of Chbharp&r, to draw the sup-
ply from, although it entailed the passage of two rivers, one the Patralla,
of no great moment, the other the Sumbe, of considerable difficulty,
from its being the sole drain of the mountains south-east of Ndhan
nearly down to the Jamna : these two rivers between them drain also
the whole country nearly between the Sumbe and the Jamna, and
as their streams united before reaching the Jamna, one crossing would
be saved. He unfortunately drew his new line of canal from the junc-
tion to Bury a, too close to the Jamna, instead of leading it under
BeUaehar and KharwAn, which though much more expensive in the
onset, would have proved less so hereafter ; it would at least have been
much safer, as it has now become necessary to take measures against
the encroachments of the Jamna*, which this season have been to a
formidable extent, and may this year, require expensive means, to
prevent its continuance, which can only be decided on after the rains.
The water led from the Jamna near Chuharpur is conducted along a
9 The effect* of this, supposing the Jamna to cut into the canal, may be here
noticed : the present bed of the canal is above the low-water surface level of the
Jamna .• the fall of the Jamna is more rapid than that of the canal, the level of the
latter being maintained to attain the upper surface level of the country, and the
maximnm rise of the Jamna would suffice to throw about 12 feet water into the
canal at height of floods ; this would probably cause much damage in times of heavy
floods, and might permanently be injurious by sweeping out the bed, and inclining
the river to take this course from its lying direct in the line of current. In such
case, it would break into the river again either at Kanjnun, or at K&rnal, or both,
and its strength of current would suffice to clear for itself such a channel as would
remedy the evils it could not fail to bring about in the meantime. The superior
slope of the bed of the Jumna is likely to prevent this, and means may be devised
to lead off the strength of the current from the bank, it has this year so fiercely
Digiti
zed by G00gle
114 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [Makch,
natural channel to Jhy&ari, thence by a new cut into the Pair alia,
which it follows to its junction with the Sdmbe, where Lieut. Blank
projected a dam of masonry, but was deterred from its execution by
the heavy floods of 1820 : the earthen dam then required was in extent
500 feet, now it has extended to a serious work of 1200 feet ; the ex-
tension is attended with the advantage of the floods attaining less height,
as none have reached since within three feet of the height he noted. —
From this point an entirely new channel connected this work with the
old line of canal near Bury a, whence its bed was simply cleared or
restored as far as Delhi ; in the vicinity of which a number of old bridges
were repaired and some new ones built, besides which the only other
works done were the formation of a new escape dam at Kanjnun to-
wards the head of the canal, and the restoration of an old one near Bowdma,
for the tail of it ; both works of vital importance, though still insufficient
from want of a more centrical escape (as at Karndl), to pass off the
heavy land floods from the north of Karndl, which are added to those of
the canal in the rains : the old channel by Budakhera presents a suitable
site for such a work. On Lieut. Blank's unexpected death in June, 1 821 ,
the canal was considered finished, and the bills rendered, amounting
to somewhat more than half of the estimate — many works noted in
them were not even commenced. The canal was however in fact com-
pleted, so far as conducting the supply of water then needful was con*
cerned. When this supply came to be increased, and that for Fkkoz's
canal to be also brought down by the same head, the canal was no
longer efficient ; to prevent inundation, it became necessary to embank
the canal nearly from end to end, and when the water became so deep
as not to admit of a loaded hackery (or cart) passing through it, it
became necessary to build bridges, so that from within a few years of
Captain Blank's death, the works of the canal, suited to its present
purposes, have been in almost constant progress, and upon an enhanced
scale, from the canal being kept full of water during their execution ;
for the irrigating villages had then become dependent on it for the means
of paying their revenue. These works are only now drawing to com-
pletion.
Restoration of Feroz's Canal. Main branch, Rair to Bahdderah, 151$
miles in length ; Rhotak branch, 45 miles long ; Darbah branch, 32 miles
long ; New Supply Head, 12 miles long. Total length, 240 miles.
The idea of the advantages of this work appears to have presented
itself to the mind of Captain Blank, when employed on the Delhi canal,
in its vicinity ; but they were first specifically brought to the considera-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
IS&] The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. 115
tioa of government by the civil commissioner Mr. Fortbscub, through
whom I received instructions in May, 1820, to make the requisite sur-
rey* and estimates ; these added to other duties were not completed
till Jose, 1822, and were then submitted to government, and sanctioned
daring that year ; and I was honored, by being appointed to carry my
own ideas into effect. The work commenced in March, 1823; the exca-
vation of the channel was completed, and, a few necessary works of
masonry for regulating the water being finished, the water was turned
down the canal in May, 1825. This measure may appear precipitate,
bat water to the country, to which this was destined, was so valu-
able a boon to both man and beast, and the soil was generally
so good, and the canal relatively to the Delhi one so small, that the
extra expence of working in water was of much less moment, than the
benefits of the supply of water to the country. Since that period the
completion of original works, as well as the extension of the advantages
of the canal, have been progressive.
. The original works consisted in the clearance of the old line
of canal from Rair to Chamini, with the formation of bridges, as
detailed in the abstract of estimates. The extensions are of the main
line to Bakaderah, — of an additional branch into our newly settled
frontier towards Darbah, — and of the Rhotak branch to Rhotak, with
all the works necessary thereon : — these works like those of the Delhi
canal are close on completion. In reference to the two canals, which
bare one common head, I may here allude to the formation of the ma-
sonry dam across the Sumbe, now in execution, to supersede the
earthen dam there, premising that this dam is swept away annually
in the end of June, after which, there is no regular supply of water in
the canal, and that it is extending in dimensions. With every exer-
tion, it occupies about 25 days in construction, and as it cannot be
commenced before the rains are over, it cannot be completed before
the 20th October, and in these 25 days, the fall of the Jamna is be-
tween two and three feet (exclusive of temporary rises from floods), so
that although there is an abundant commencing supply for the sea-
son without any work in the Jamna on the 1st October, — it is no longer
to on the 25th, and it takes 10 days further to stop up the escape
channels in the Jamna near CMharpur (which can only be commen-
ced after the bunds below are capable of retaining the water) ; by this
time the river is a foot lower, and the channels at the separation of
the eastern and western branches have to be cleared out, which brings
the fall supply into the canal about the 1st December. With the masonry
dam, which may be thrown entirely open down to the level of the bed of
Q 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
116 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [March,
the S&mbe during the rains* and which may he planked up to fall
water level in two days, and sanded in front in three or four ; this will
he ready for the reception of water on the 1st October, at which peri-
od also may be ready a single small intermediate dam, then necessary
to bring down water, and the other works may be kept in progress
according to the fall of the river, so that the supply, being kept steady
from the 1st October, will reach the most distant parts by the 10th,
just when wanted, and will not fail, as there will then be leisure to have
each necessary work in advance ready at the moment it is wanted ;
these alone are advantages outweighing a cost beyond what this will
be, the temporary work, with all its disadvantages, costing about as
much as the interest at four per cent, on the outlay of the permanent
one, which supersedes it.
Restoration of the Doab Canal, East of the Jamna. Main branch, 135
miles long ; side branches, about 25 miles in progress.
In July 1822, Lieut. DeBudb of the engineers was appointed by
the Marquis or Hastings, to survey and report on the then state of the
Doab canal. The field work of this duty carried on throughout the
rains was completed by the end of March, 1823, when Lieut. DbBuds
was relieved by Captain Smith of the engineers, appointed 31st De-
cember, 1822, to complete the surveys and prepare the estimates of
expence of restoration of the Doab canal, which preliminaries being
completed in May, 1823, the work was authorized in December of that
year, and commenced on in 1824 ; and on this canal the great portion
of original work of all descriptions being completed before the water
was turned in, it was only opened in January, 1 830. The general
completion of works being immediately followed by the departure of
the superintendent, Major Smith, for Europe, on sick certificate,
the duty devolved on his assistant, Lieut. P. T. Cautlby, of artillery,
under whom the supply of water has been kept up in the face of diffi-
culties, some of which could not be and others were not anticipated.
The deranging causes were, first, the great fall in the upper and lower
portions of canal combined with looseness of soil ; and next, the many
mountain-torrents crossing its course. The first, though from end to endf
only equal to that of the Delhi canal, was disposed of in a much shorter
space, and without the strong soil general in the line of the Delhi canal
• Practice in the management of the dam, if ultimately completed according to
the original design, will admit of its being regularly worked in the rains, so as to
keep up a constant supply.
t The separation from and junction with the Jttmna being at points almost on
opposite sides of the river.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1853.] The Ancient Canal* in the Delhi TerrUorf. 117
to counteract its effects. The consequence has been the displacement of
the bottom of the canal at its head and tail, where in consequence of
the natural inclination of the country, the great portion of the slope
was concentrated. The only remedy for such a defect is, a system
of lockage ; this has been applied where of most urgent necessity,
and for the completion of which a design is now under the considera-
tion of Government, which if sanctioned will do away with the
evil. The second cause of disasters, the mountain-torrents which cross
its course, (the; Bddhi Jamna, the Nyagadn, and the Maskarrah raos,
besides smaller ones,) are now I would fain hope nearly, if not entirely,
provided for, by the arrangements which last year's operations have
completed, and which, there is reason to suppose, are such as are not
liable to be injured to any serious extent : but the power of these
mountain-torrents is such, as to defy all calculation ; — unseen, their ope-
ration in times of flood must almost appear incredible, and in their
progress they are so capricious, it is impossible to provide for every con-
tingency, that a series of years may present. These three great torrents
have been each provided with extensive masonry dams, laid open dur-
ing the rains, but capable of being shut up to supply water when re-
quired at that season, besides which, the Maskarrah, the most danger-
ous one, has three extensive openings leading into the Hindan river,
and each now, at least 100 feet in width ; and so much has altogether
been done, that, there is no reason to apprehend any further heavy
expenditure on this account, except under some operation of nature,
which may destroy any portion of the works. These remedial works,
and the completion of portions of the original design, which Lieut. -
Colonel Smith was unable to finish, have with a few additional, bene-
ficial, or necessary works, been continually in progress since the
canal was opened. One of the heaviest labours has been, that
of keeping the embankments of sufficient height to prevent the inun-
dation, which would otherwise occur from the deposit of the silt
brought down from the upper part of the canal, raising the bot-
tom of the canal wherever the current was sufficiently slack to allow
its subsidence ; this evil and expence will cease, with its cause above
noted.
Having detailed as far as could be done the former and present state
of the canals, and the original expenditure, incurred thereon, it remains
to notice the purposes for which these canals were reopened, the results
to the present period, and the current expenditure for their maintenance
inefficiency.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
118 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [Maech,
1st. — Of the purposes for which the Canals were re-opened.
The original and almost sole purpose of the government in under-
taking these works appears to have been to convey a large supply of
water from the Jamna, for the purposes of irrigation of the crops, 1st,
on lines of country where the natural depth of the wells was so great
as to render the cost of irrigation from them so heavy as to impede
the improvement of the districts, and delay the resettlement of waste
villages, as on the Delhi canal. 2nd, to supply the means of cheap and
easy irrigation to districts, as on the Doab canal, where although the
wells are not so deep, yet the irrigation from the canal would be so
comparatively cheap and easy as to afford the probability of great ex-
tension of the benefit : and 3rd, as on Frroz's canal, to confer the
means of irrigation on districts where from the excessive depth of the
wells none was heretofore in use, and to convey a supply of good and
wholesome water to a country where generally it is brackish or salt ; in
some districts so much so, as to preclude their occupancy, except for a
few months grazing in the rains. To these points alone the general in-
structions of government tend, — and with such in view, the original
estimates of the Delhi canal were framed ; with the progress of this
work, the advantages derivable from water-carriage, brought promi-
nently forward after the water was first turned in, and the means d
using the water as a motive power for machinery, of which the late
Capt. Blank, the first superintendent, made a commencement, led to the
original designs of the other canals being formed with reference to
these ends, which have been followed up on all the canals by farther
works designed to render one or other of the above purposes more ef-
ficient ; so that on the completion of the designs either sanctioned or
now before government, little further work can be necessary, excepting
such as may be for the extension of these various benefits to new parts
of the country.
2nd. — Of the results to the present period.
The annexed abstracts will show in a condensed form the results up to
the end of the last official year. In elucidation of which, and explanation
of comparative small returns, with such works, I may possibly be oblig-
ed to be more diffuse than I would have wished, to be enabled to convey
a correct idea in regard to both the present results shewn by these papers
and the future prospects ; and first I have to notice, as having general
reference to all the canals, the often repeated declaration of the
government to the superintendents, as their main rule of guidance,
that, the object of government in collecting a rent through them was
Digitized by
Google
1833.] The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. 119
not so much to form a productive source of revenue from the actual
price paid for the water, as to give them an efficient control over its
expenditure, by making it of value sufficient to prevent its being wan-
tonly wasted ; and that they looked alone to the general improvement
of die country, as the source from which they should derive the return
adequate to the outlay. This announcement completely prevented the
superintendents' disposing of the water so far as irrigation was con-
cerned to the best advantage, and led to the settlement of a fixed rate
of assessment so low, that it is not sufficient to prevent carelessness,
entailing much waste of water ; from which it may be presumed, that,
the instructions of government have been fully acted up to, and the
rates levied are sufficiently moderate. I am unable to state from want of
knowledge whether the improvement of the revenue in canal villages
has heen commensurate with the expense : I know the rents of many
have been raised, and that others, which were reckoned highly assessed,
have been by the canal enabled to pay their revenue ; and I also know,
that tracts of jangal have disappeared in many parts, and are super-
seded by cultivation, supported by the canals. This point might be
elucidated on the Delhi canal by a statement showing the revenue derived
from all canal villages for a series of years before 1820, and for the
subsequent years, compared with an account of the revenue derived
during the same years from villages not irrigating from the canal, and
in which the wells were equally deep. The length of leases being consi-
dered,— the advantage I believe would be with the canal villages, and
the comparative difference would be fairly attributable to the canals ;
the improvement which would doubtless appear on the inland villages,
as well as a corresponding proportion of that on the canal villages, being
attributable to the benefits arising from a settled government super-
seding an unsettled one. On Feroz's canal a similar comparison
might be made, commencing with the year 1826; but the Doab canal
w too recently opened to afford any room for comparison. I may be
permitted here to observe a tact which has forced itself on my notice
m my constant intercourse with the inhabitants of canal villages, that,
wherever a lease is for any long period of years, of 10 or upwards, or
even of five years, improvement, and the use of the canal water
nmke most rapid strides ; and that wherever the settlement is too sud-
denly raised, or is for a short period, or from year to year, — the
wte object of the cultivators appears to be to deteriorate their lands,
°ften until they fall into a state from which it is difficult to recover
tifcm; and to this the deadly epidemic of 1829-30 has much added,
v leaving valuable villages without hands sufficient to cultivate their
Digiti
zed by G00gle
120 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [March,
lands*. Hie abstracts show that on the Delhi canal, an immedi-
ate and satisfactory commencement was made by the cultivators, in
availing themselves of the benefits put within their reach ; on the other
canals this is apparently much less the case, the explanation of which
appears to me to be simply, that, on the Delhi canal and upper parts
of Fbroz's canal, irrigation from its waters was merely the resumption of
an old practice, of which the memory still remained, and the country
being intersected by old water-courses, the villagers had merely to fol-
low up their traces to the canal banks, and clear them out with a tole-
rable assurance that when opened they would be serviceable, and that
their money expended on the clearance would not be thrown awayf. On
Fkroz's canal, below Suffidon, and the Doab canal, the case was totally
different ; no remains of ancient water-courses existed to point out to
the inhabitants the mode of drawing the water to their lands ; they had
not the recollections of such a system of irrigation having existed, and
had to buy all their experience of the disadvantages of adopting what
was the cheapest mode, a direct cut from the nearest point of the canal to
their lands without reference to level ; and it was not until they had
bought this experience, and failed, that, they would listen to the advice
given them, and lead their water-courses so as to answer the purposes.
On Feroz's canal, the system too led to a perfectly new mode of life:
instead of continuing a pastoral people, who depended on the periodical
rains raising them grain sufficient for their food with little trouble,
they early made the discovery, that, with plenty of good water for their
cattle, if they used it for irrigation, they must give up a life of idleness
for one of comparative labour, and it was only by very slow degrees
they acquired the knowledge, that, the advantages derivable from
it would compensate them for the labour, and it is only now that
the advances are beginning to be rapid, and advice sought as to the
best means of availing themselves of the water. It cannot however be
expected, that the benefits of the canals in Hariana will be developed
until the rising generation brought up on the line of canals to labour,
forms the majority of the inhabitants; and will not be fully so, until
time and good government does away with the recollections of the life
of general inactivity, added to the predatory habits, of their fore&then
• This epidemic was not confined to the canals, but extended from IAdimt*
to Jaipur, as also east of the Jamna, when the Doab canal was not opened. The
abstract* will show its effects, from which many places have not yet recovered
t The expence of clearing out the water-courses, from 100 to 200 rapeei per
mile, is always incurred by the cultivators, sometimes aided by a lota from
government free of interest.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
law.} The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. 121
On the Doah canal the change is not so great, being only of one eye-
tern of irrigation for another. It is almost too much in its inmncy to
allow of comparisons, but the results are consistent with the premises,
and the progress of irrigation has been infinitely more rapid than on
Fmaoz's canal, though less so than on the Delhi canal ; the decrease in
the last crop, shown in the abstract, compared with the corresponding
one of the preceding year, being solely owing to the excess of rain dur-
ing the kst cold season, diminishing the necessity for water, a cause
which has frequently had corresponding results on the Delhi canal. It
being a clear matter of course that, where rain mils in sufficient quan-
tity to ripen the crops, they will not draw upon the canal for a supply
to be paid for.
It was found, chiefly on Fxnoz's canal, that many villages were in-
clined to go on as they had heretofore, without employing the water
for irrigation, but freely using it for all village purposes, and for the.
supply of their cattle, saving themselves the expence and trouble of
drawing water or maintaining their wells and tanks efficient. As they
benefitted considerably by the canal in this way, it appeared rea-
sonable that they should contribute their share to its support ; and it
was submitted to government, that although villages paying above a
certain sum annually (fixed at 100 rupees) in shape of water rent
on irrigation, should still have the free use of the water for village
purposes, yet that those paying less should contribute to the expences
of what they benefitted from, by paying a moderate rate on the number
of cattle of all kinds belonging to the village. This rate was fixed at six
rupees per 100 head of cattle per annum, — a rate so infinitely below the
cost of watering from wells, that, to the westward, cattle are brought to
the canal from villages distant many miles. The distinction made in
favor of irrigating villages has led to many irrigating up to and beyond
the limit, which gives free water to the cattle ; and in villages within
reach of canal irrigation, this source of income will gradually cease,
but will still be continued, and go beyond what it has now attained by
the watering of cattle of villages, either so distant, or so situated, as
to be unable to irrigate, and it is one so fair and reasonable, that it may
safely be continued. The filling of village tanks at certain rates is in
met only a modification of the above, and requires no special notice.
Of the Employment of the Water for moving Machinery.
The only application of the water of the canals for the movement
of machinery hitherto put in practice has been of a very simple nature,
yet producing what will appear comparatively great results, as a
source of revenue. The use of the water is let out to those who
Digiti
zed by G00gle
122 The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [March,
offer most for it, and as the rent offered can never exceed a rate which
must be under the cost of other modes of doing the same work, the
employment in this way of surplus water, or of streams again returned
to the canal for irrigation, is a general benefit to the community, and
tends to cheapen commodities for which the demand is constant.
The first introduction of the system was by Captain Blank, who per-
mitted the erection of three small mills for grinding flour in Delhi, on
payment of an annual rent of 25 rupees. Since these, mills of superior
powers have been erected at the cost of government, which in Delhi and
its vicinity are rented at rates varying from two rupees to five rupees per
day, each mill ; according to its power, which depends on the height of
head water available at the different sites. The produce of the flour
mills in Delhi fluctuates considerably, but with the supply of water now
becoming annually more constant, the range will become from 25 to
30,000 rupees per annum, beyond which it is not likely to go. Similar
mills are being constructed at Karndl, the income from which is ex-
pected to realize from 9 to 12,000 rupees, — as the large cantonment,
added to the city, will probably yield abundance of work, and time and
leisure will enable future superintendents to select many advantageous
spots for the erection of small flour mills suited to the demand,
every one of which may be more or less a productive source of revenue,
compared with the expenditure, if due attention be paid to suit the sup-
ply of mills to the probable work. On Fbroz's canal, the only mills erect-
ed are those at Hansi, less powerful than the Delhi ones, but as yet
too powerful for the demand ; their produce however compared with
their expence is satisfactory, and in such a rising town as Hangi,
full employment for them may be anticipated. With exception of
the vicinity of Jhtnd, no other place holds out work for any extensive
sets of mills on this canal, and there the slope of the canal appears
sufficient to promise a return of about 15 per cent, on the outlay.
The capabilities of the Doab canal in this respect, as in many others,
are very great. Flour mills have been erected at Sahardnpur, and near
Delhi, and the produce shown in the abstract is the return from them ;
others are just completed at Shamli : and there are other large towns
capable of affording work for many more, some of which are authorized
and others contemplated, the waste water from all being available for
irrigation below the mill sites. Besides the above, saw mills are about
to be tried at Delhi and Karndl, places which would yield much of
such work, being the marts from which the upper part of western India
is supplied with timber, from the forests of the Jamna and the Ganges.
Models of oil and sugar-cane mills have also been prepared, which
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. 123
not only to be successful, but likely to find an abundance of
employment, the lines of the Delhi and Doab canals producing much
sugar-cane, with very imperfect modes of expressing the juice.
It wiD be apparent, that all these modes of employing the water are
highly advantageous, and do not interfere with the main purpose of the
canals, that of irrigation ; the mills being established either where sur-
plus water escapes, or where it is returned below the mills into the
canal again, no loss of water is entailed to irrigation, beyond the ab-
sorption and evaporation of the mill streams.
Of the Employment of the Canals for the Transit of Merchandize.
This object has as yet been only very , imperfectly attained, being
chiefly limited to the transit of rafts of timber on the line of canals
between the forests of the Jamna, from which the rafts enter the canal
at its head, to all intermediate places, along the canal of Fsroz Shah,
as far as Hissar, a distance of 200 miles. Down the Delhi branch from
Rmr, few if any rafts, except for canal works, have passed down, as
they could not reach nearer to Delhi than 12 miles, from the obstructions
presented by the ancient bridges and reduced dimensions of the canal.
It is therefore preferable for rafters to use the Jamna for such purposes,
conveying their rafts to within a mile of the city, though attended often
by great danger in the rains, or delays in the hot- weather.
I do not conceive for these reasons, that the Delhi branch will ever
come into use for rafting, beyond the demand of the vicinity of the
canal, which with so much jungle -wood, available for common purposes,
is not likely at an early period to be great. The Doab canal, it is pro-
bable, will be so employed as soon as the completion of the works in-
tended to rectify the disadvantages attendant on the heavy fall at head
and tail of this canal, shall afford means of locking the whole line of
strong descent. This canal will ultimately come into use for rafting,
not only on account of its safety and more equable depth of water, when
compared with the Jamna, but because Sahardnpur is the general
mart for all timber brought from the range of hills between the
Jamna and the Ganges, and the merchants will doubtless see the ad-
vantages of at once rafting direct from SaharanpUr to Delhi by a
safe and expeditious line of water carriage, instead of incurring the
cost of a land carriage of 16 miles to the Jamna, added to the dan-
ger and delays of the river navigation.
In regard to boat navigation, all that has yet effected has been
done by the superintendent, in using boats for the transport of
lime, from the upper to the lower parts of the canal, which has
a 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
f*4 The Ancient Canah in the Delhi Territory [Masc*,
been a matter of great convenience, from the difficulty of procuring
land carriage; indeed more so than one of earing, on account of
the unformed condition of the canal banks for the purpose of track-
age. In this respect, the Doab canal is well advanced ; to make its
banks available, nothing beyond a clearance of trees is necessary,
when it may become an object to cut them down, on completion of
the locks. On the Delhi and Haridna branches, the necessary wo*
is rapidly progressing, and the last lock necessary is just completed. To
establish such a novelty however will, I fear, require the experiment, to
be made by the government, of establishing some boats suited to the ca-
nals, to ply for the carriage of goods ; for instance, between Kamdl, or
Rair and Hansi, and I think such might shortly be done with advan-
tage. There is at present a most extensive traffic existing across from
the Dodb, through Pdnipat, and Sonipat to Hansi % for the export of
sugar ; the return being salt, and coarse grain, and Hansi being one
of the chief entrep6ts in that quarter, for the supply of the western
states. It appears to me, it would conduce greatly to the prosperity of
Hansi, if the line of trade could be diverted from Pdnipat to the
canal at Rair, where the Hansi and Delhi branches separate, instead
of proceeding direct from Pdnipat to Hansi via Neaulta, by a land
carriage of about 70 miles. From Rair, the sugar loaded on the canal
boats could either proceed to within 12 miles of Delhi?, saving aboat
40 miles of land carriage, or by Fsaoz's canal to Hansi; on this lat-
ter line a return cargo would always be secure ; and north of Karndl,
being a great sugar country, it is probable much would be exported
thence, independent of that reaching the canal from the Dodb, by
Pdnipat. Another mode in which it is probable such a trade might
be established would be the offer of a premium, to the individual
who should have conveyed the greatest value of imports and exports
by the canal, beyond some fixed sum, up to a stated period. Some
mode which would give the merchants a knowledge of the ad-
vantages to be derived from water over land carriage, without en-
tailing on them present expence and risk, will I think be necessary, to
set the matter going, after which it may be safely left to its own
merits.
Of rafting on Fbroz's canal, the knowledge of relative cost and
charges was first given, by all timbers for the canal and garrison works
at Hansi being rafted by the canal ; and the result has been, that, the
• At the coat of a single draw-bridge, boats could be enabled to reach within fix
miles of Dtlhi, and alterations to three old bridges would take them to within two
mWaofDtlMi.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
W*.] Th Ancient Cmuds in the Delhi Territory* iW
import of timber from Karndl to /AW, /AwW, and Hieoar, by land
cartage* has been completely superseded, the canal being capable of
carrying rafts, of the heaviest timbers, including ajl changes and the
canal duty, at a cost of about one«half of the land carriage ; and corre-
qending results may be expected elsewhere, when once the advantages
of transport of merchandize by boats is dearly shown. The boats suitr
thk to the canals should be long and narrow, and of burthen from 100
to 200 mauads*, sharp at both ends, and with a falling mast, and sail, to
take advantage of the wind so often favorable for a return passage
against the stream. The current however is no where sufficient to offer
any serious impediment to tracking up.
Of sundry minor Items of Revenue.
With the view of preventing waste, and discontent, or complaints
of partiality, it has been made a rule on the canals, that, nothing/ the
produce of the canals, shall be given tree of payment of what is deem-
ed an equivalent, and that whoever chooses to give the equivalent
may have the right purchased. This leads to sundry small collections,
which individually trifling are collectively sufficient to pay a most con-
siderable portion of the outlay in improving this source of income, by
planting timber trees on the canals. In the rains, the canal bounds pro-
dace annually a strong growth of various descriptions of grasses, and
Jangle; these have to be cleared annually to admit of repairs and
access to the banks; what is unprofitable is burnt, and what is
useful is stacked and sold. The bounds are in many parts covered
with trees of natural growth, of which such as would impede the
akimate purpose of trackage are disposed of when wanted in the
neighbourhood. Licences are also granted for cutting forage from
the canal bounds. These together produce the sums stated in the
column of " sale of produce of canal bounds," in the annexed ab-
stracts, which though as yet trifling will ultimately become of material
■mount, when the useful forest timber trees, now planting on the
canals, shall attain value with . age, of which an idea may be formed
from the canal banks, west, of the Jamnp, affording space for about
200,000 trees to attain, maturity ; they are planted in such numbers
that from 10 to 15,000 get, past the age of danger annually, at an
expenditure limited to 2000 rupees. At the age of 20 years, the
average value of each timber, if only rated at 2£ rupees, would admit
* 1 to SOU mmnds of sugar, grain, and sock heavy articles would lie inside a
hostof tarn feet depth, of suitable length, and 7 to 8 feet beam, which might be
sstyJosded to draw two lest water, bo as to pass under the bridges freely at com-
■oo water lerel.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
126
The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory. [Ma*ch,
a similar number to be cut down annually, being in value, at the above
average, 30,000 rupees ; though when once the regular cutting com-
mences, it will of course only be picked trees which are felled in
number suited to the demand for public and private purposes, and
which individually will be far more valuable. The produce of the canal
bounds may therefore I think be ultimately of considerable importance,
and probably much more than I anticipate, from the destruction of
the natural forests of the country from want of protection*, and the
total absence of any system of plantation in this part of the country. -
The only other item of income noticeable as having been one anti-
cipated by Captain Blank is that, from renting out the fishing of the
canal ; as yet it is hardly worth notice, and can never be of any mo-
ment, if I may judge from past experience.
As a source of revenue fines should not properly be estimated : the
object of levying them is to aid in the prevention of waste or wilful
misuse of the canal waters ; — to protect the embankment from injury,
and thereby save its vicinity from inundation : — and to secure the
plantations from depredation and negligence.
Note. — The above report concludes with accurate statements of the
various items of expence incurred upon the canals, for which we cannot
find space ; we have however endeavoured to condense their contents into
the following table, under such heads as could be readily separated. — En.
Abstract of Expences incurred, or estimated, upon Permanent Works of the
three Canals, up to the present time.
Denomination of work.
Excavations and embankments,
Overfalls, escape dams, weirs, re-
gulators, and sluices,
Bndges (some with locks), ....
Under ground channels,
Irrigation outlets, &c
Experimental works,
Water-mills for saws, floor, &c...
Depots, choukls, &c
Plantations of trees on banks,. .
Establishment,
Total of Estimates and Bill
for Works,
Delhi Canal.
Rs. A. P.
1,60,309 2 10
1,03,113 8
1,02,547 10
3,099 1
4,500
4,938 14
45,538 10
4,414 6
2,281 15
52,264 9 11
Hariana Canal. Doab Canal,
Rs. A. P.
3,50,653 3 4
26,769 3
69,658 15
6,500
35,769 14
6,351 9 4
2,283 15 3
52,175 8 4
Rs. A. P.
1,76,426 8
1,20,656 14
95,315 2
36,234 11 2
25,192 14
8,195 9
5,490 13 4
4,83,007 15 9 5,50,162 5 2 4,67,511 15 7
* The forests of the Jamna are nearly destroyed from indiscriminate cutting,
since they fell under our authority : any one is allowed to cut what he pleases,
and where he pleases, on payment of a merely nominal duty, and the whole country
resorts here for supplies. Formerly it was not so : the result is, that now there is not
a saul tree fit for public purposes, within six miles of the river ; no roads exist, and
the cost of timber in consequence in my recollection has doubled.
Digitized by
Google
1883.]
The Ancient Canals in the Delhi Territory.
127
The total first outlay for the restoration of the system of canals will hy
tins table appear to have been about fifteen lakhs of rupees : — it is im-
possible on the present occasion to specify the particulars of the various
works of engineering skill which the nature of these canals rendered
necessary :— one of the sluice dams was described in our number for Oct.
1832 (vol. i. p. 454), and we hope hereafter to select for insertion other
works equally novel and interesting to Engineers, from among the numer-
ous plans and designs transmitted by the Superintendent to Calcutta.
Meanwhile, we must conclude this notice with a condensed abstract
of the revenue of the canals, and the ordinary outlay in maintaining
them, also compiled from Major Colvin's statements.
Abstract of the Revenues and ordinary Expences of the several Canals
since the period of their restoration.
Revenue.
From what source.
Delhi Canal, for
23 half years,
up to
1830—31.
Hansi or
Feroz'sCanal,
11 half years,
up to
1830—31.
Canals west
of the Jamna,
since the ac-
counts were
united for
one year,
1831—32.
Doab Canal,
for 4 half
years, up to
1831—32.
Rent of ground under
irrigation, Rabi crop,
„ Khartf ditto,..
Rent for watering cattle,
Rent of water-mills, . .
Transit duty on rafts of
timber,
Sale of produce of canal
bounds,
Rs. A. P.
1,88,070 5 5
1,47,522 4 1
2,098 5 7
80,029 14 5
2,933 4
4,299 14 9
2,250 15 4
15,711 5 9
Rs. A. P.
38,185 10 6
30,012 1 3
8,334 13 10
8,332 13 9
3,957 3 7
1,469 13 10
1,547 11 11
8,047 11 7
Rs. A. P.
27,698 3 4
23,318 1 7
4,210 9 7
19,002 3 7
2,061 15
1,810 6 11
317 1
2,463 2 10
Rb. A. P.
9,559 12
4,074 11 10
3,361 "6 8
1,271 11 9
Sundries — fishing, filling
tanks, &c. • •
Fines for breach of canal
regulations,
1,985 10
Total income,..,.
4,42,916 5 4
99,888 3
80,881 10 11
20,253 4 3
Annual income, say, . .
42,000
20,000
81,000
[10,000
Expenditure.
Establishment for su-
perintendence of
works, collections,
Ac
Amount of the ordi-
nary repairs, as per
athly bills,....
Total expenditure,
3,47,195 7 9
59,169 12 4
4,16,365 4 1
Annual expense, say, . . . . 1 40,000
1,51,770 10
5,803 6 6
1,57,574 6
28,000
79,722 14 7
18,342 8 5
98,065 7
98,000
74,715 6 2
10,509 5 6
85,224 11 8
42,500
Digiti
zed by G00gle
126
Climate and Altitude of HatMbod.
[Mimoff,
II. — Abstract of Observations of the Temperature, Pressure, and Rygro-
metrical state of the Air at Nasirdbdd. By Major T. Oliver.
The barometer is the same I used at Delhi, and the observations
have been reduced by the same quantity (.055), to make them compa-
rable with those in the Surveyor General's office. The thermometers
are also the same. I have not been able to note the barometer at 10
a.m. excepting for two or three months : the daily range appears to be
about 0.10. The mean temperature of the day has throughout been
taken as the mean of sunrise and 2 h. 30 m. p. m. ; and of the night,
the mean of sunset and sunrise. I lately obtained from Calcutta one
of Daniell's hygrometers, intending to compare its dew-point indica-
tions with the wet thermometer depressions in this dry climate ; but I
cannot procure ether that will produce a depression of more than 5 #
or 6° below what water will effect, and this of course is useless here,
unless in the rains. We have already a sufficient number of comparisons
of this sort in moist air, but it would be desirable to have them in the dry
air of this part of the country. As the moist thermometer sinks
sometimes as much as 40°, some freezing mixture must be requisite to
get the dew-point in such cases, where I imagine the best ether
would not answer the purpose.
Regarding the Tables I now send, it will be observed, that in Table
HI, I confine myself merely to temperatures and wet thermometer de-
pressions : these can be reduced at any time into tensions, when the
subject may have undergone due investigation : in the mean time,
the dew points and mean comparative tensions have been calculated,
as in my former communication.
Tablb I. — Barometer reduced to 32* ; Temperature of the external Air
and Deduced Elevation of Nasirdbdd above Calcutta,
Year and
Month.
Barom.
4 p.m.
Temp,
of Air.
Eleva-
tion.
Year and
Month.
Barom.
4 P. M.
Temp.
of Air.
Eleva-
tion.
Dec. 1830, ..
Jan. 1831, . .
February, . •
March, .. ..
April,
May,
June,
July,
August, ....
September, . .
October, ....
November,..
In.
28,513
,510
,398
,338
,230
,117
27,979
28,003
,040
,138
,278
,407
72,8
72,2
68,4
85,1
95,3
102,7
99,4
94,5
87,2
85,9
87,6
76,1
Feet
1435
1468
1474
1529
1508
1495
1532
1529
1500
1493
1444
1431
Dec. 1831, ..
Jan. 1832, ..
February, . .
March, ....
April, ......
May
June,
July.
August, ....
September,..
October, ....
November, . .
In.
28,467
,483
,365
,312
,218
,161
28,000
27,951
28,032
,183
,340
,461
e
65,2
68,8
69,6
79,7
95,9
98,2
100,1
91,4
85,8
88,3
89,2
81,3
Feet.
1462
1430
1488
1493
1526
1497
1526
1539
1425
1504
1466
1473
Means, .. . .
28,246
85,6
1487
Means, ....
28,248
84,5
1486
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18*3.]
Climate and Altitude of Nasirdbad.
129:
Tails II. — Mean Temperature of each Month, with the differences /rem:
the Mean of the Year.
Diff. from
Diff.from
Mean.
Night.
Mean.
Sunset
o
o
o
— 16,3
57,2
— 16,0
65,4
— 16,6
57,6
— 15,6
64,5
- 4,9
69,0
- 4,2
77,9
4- 9,4
82,0
- 8,8
*90,0
+ 13,9
86,5
-13,3
93,6
+ 15,0
86,7
-13,5
91,3
4-10,1
83,0
-- 9,8
86,7
+ 5,5
79,0
-- 5,8
81,7
+ 4,8
78,7
-- 5,5
83,0
+ 2,7
75,6
- 2,4
83,1
— 7,9
65,0
- 8,2
73,3
— 16,0
57,7
— 15,5
64,3
73,2
79,6
Diff. from
Mean.
o
-14,2
— 15,1
— 1,7
+ 10,4
4 14,0
+ 11,7
+ 7,1
+
+
+
2,1
3,4
3,5
6,3
15,3
76,6
Tajlb III.— Temperature of the Air and Depression (D) of Wet Ther-
mometer.
Year and Month.
December, 1830,
January, 183 1 , . .
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July
August
September,
October,
November,
Means, 1st Year, .
Sunrise.
Temp. D
49,8
50,3
50,0
62,5
74,4
82,5
82,7
78,8
77,1
76,2
69,1
55,3
67,4
o
9,5
9,6
5,5
10,1
14,7
16,7
9,1
5,1
2,7
3,7
8,5
7,0
8,5
2h. 30m. P. m.
Temp. D
o
73,7
72,9
68,9
85,3
97,8
104,6
10P,H
95,5
88,6
87,4
89,4
77,4
86,8
o
19,1
17,8
13,9
22,2
29,4
33,6
22,9
17,5
10,2
15,1
22,1
18,3
20,2
4 P. M.
Temp. D
o
72,8
72,2
68,4
85,1
95,3
102,7
99,4
94,5
87,2
85,9
87,6
76,1
85,6
o
18,8
17,7
14,0
22,1
28,0
32,9
23,1
17,0
9,6
10,9
20,7
17,9
19,4
Sunset.
Temp. D.
o
67,3
68,2
65,1
81,8
90,0
95,7
89,2
86,9
82,1
82,6
82,6
70,0
80,2
o
16,2
16,4
12,2
19,1
25,0
26,7
14,5
10,8
5,7
7,9
14,9
14,3
15,3
Dec. 1831, .
Jan. 1832, .
February,.,
March,.'...,
April,
May,
June,
July
August, ...
September, .
October, . . .
November, .
52,6
3,9
66,2
47,9
5,9
70,2
51,1
7,0
70,4
57,6
10,4
81,2
73,7
16,0
97,3
76,0
14,6
99,0
81,3
10,4
101,6
79,5
5,5
93,4
75,6
3,2
87,0
72,7
6,3
89,5
67,4
13,5
91,5
59,3
10,5
83,8
66,2
8,9
85,9
9,3
16,2
16,6
22,7
32,5
32,5
26,7
16,1
10,8
17,9
28,9
22,8
21,1
65,2
68,8
69,6
79,7
95,9
98,2
100,1
91,4
85,8
88,3
89,2
81,3
84,5
9,0
61,2
15,8
62,6
16,7
64,0
22,2
74,0
31,3
89,9
32,3
91,6
26.2
93,3
14,9
86,6
10,0
81,2
17,5
83,3
27,6
83,6
21,5
76,6
20,4
79,0
Digiti
zed by G00gle
wo
further Experiments on the
[MAEfcir,
T»k,b IV.— Dew point (SJ, calculated from the Depre ssion in Table III.
Comparative Tension (T), and Grains of Aqueous Vapour in a cubic
foot of Air (G.)
Year and
Month.
S.
T.
G.
Year and
Month.
S.
T.
6.
Dec 1830, ..
Jas.1831, ..
February, . .
March,
April,
May
June,
July,
August,
September, . .
October, ....
November, ..
31,8
34,0
41,6
45,*
46,2
48,9
67,9
71,6
74,4
70,0
55,4
43,0
,338
,370
,528
,372
,260
,224
,463
,606
,759
,685
,449
,438
2,37
2,57
3,33
3,74
3,75
4,03
7,53
8,56
9,45
8,21
5,17
3,47
Dec. 1831, ..
Jan. 1832, . .
February, . .
March, • • • •
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September, . .
October
November, . .
48,6
36,9
36,5
35,5
38,6
40,4
61,9
71,4
72,0
62,4
35,6
40,2
,683
,445
,418
,299
,196
,201
,379
,617
,738
,53&
,215
,336
4,2*
2,84
2,80
2,66
2,84
3,00
6,20
8,52
8,77
6,4a
2^S
3,07
Means,
52,5
,458
5,02
Means, .. ..
48,3
,422
4,S0
III. — Determination of the Constant of Expansion of the standard lO/arf
Jron Bar of the great Trigonometrical Survey of India -, and expansions
of Gold, Silver and Copper by the same Apparatus. By Jas. Frinsep,
F.m.s. Sec.
When I submitted the results of my former experiments on the ex-
pansion of iron, brass, and lead, which were printed in the Glbanimot
in Science for December, 1831, 1 ventured to anticipate that the simpli-
city of the process then contrived for heating the metals would be a re-
commendation for its adoption m any future researches of a similar na-
ture. The opportunity has not been long wanting ; and as it has involved
the necessity of a more scrupulous degree of accuracy, from the import-
ant purpose to which the results were to be applied, I feel it incum-
bent upon me to enter into fuller detail in describing the course of
experiment pursued. The gigantic scale of the former trials, with bars
of twenty-five feet in length, was calculated to obviate most of the
errors of observation, as well as any want of extreme delicacy in the
measuring apparatus ; but on the present occasion, although the bare
were of smaller dimensions, the other concomitants were much more
satisfactory; and I may confidently maintain that, with the present and
the former series, we now possess a more correct table of the dilatation a
of gold, silver, iron, copper, brass, and lead, than have been hitherto
published in works of natural philosophy.
Digitized by
Google
Jfitt.) JBgM«riM0f Afrfofc III
ft wJH be remembered, that the measurement of the bate for the
great Trigonometrical Survey of India, on the Barrackpur Road, was
conducted with compensation bars of a peculiar construction, each of
them ten feet in length, or, bearing near their extremities two minute
points, intended to represent that distance without liability to alter
by change of temperature. Their construction has been accurately
described by Major Everest in the 18th volume of the Asiatic
Researches. To prevent the possibility of derangement in all or
say of these compound bars, and to serve as a term of compa*
sawn for the whole, a standard iron bar was furnished along with
them from England, upon which was laid off at a eertam temperature
with all imaginable accuracy, the measure of the English parliamentary
standard, to which all the measures of the Indian meridian line should
be thus reducible.
After the completion of the Barrackpur base, the compensation bars
underwent a most rigid comparison with the standard ; as did also
the steel chains used in measuring the several bases of CoL Lamb ton's
Surrey in the peninsula. The particulars of these comparisons, conduct*
ed with that most elaborate care and precaution, which has distinguished
afl the operations of the new survey, will be described by Major Ever-
est himself, when he shall favour the public with the result of his labours.
At present it is but one item of these precautionary measures which
wOl come under our review.
The comparisons with the standard bar were made at a temperature
differing by many degrees from that at which the latter had been
proved in England. It became therefore necessary to apply a correc-
tion for its dilatation by heat : but to do this a question naturally arose
as to what constant should be employed ? The expressions given by
different experimenters vary from 1.00144 (Troughton) to 1.00118
(Dalong et Petit), or one- sixth of the whole quantity, — a variation either
to be attributed to imperfections in the mode of experimenting, or to
defence of quality in the metal, — but in either way rendering it ad-
risible to have recourse to a new set of experiments, to obtain the
bowidual expansion of the standard bar itself. The experiments
made by myself in Dec. 1831 upon a rod of iron twenty-five feet in
length, though nearly agreeing with the results of Lavoisier and
SmeetQD*, were for the same reason inapplicable to a metal which
anight be of different quality. It was therefore determined by Major
* Expansion of wire-drawn iron by Lavoisier, 1.001235
Smeaton, 1.001268
Prinsep, 1.001256
s 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1S2 Further efyerunents On the [Maecbv
Everest to submit the bar to a new inquiry, attended with every
precaution to insure confidence.
The process adopted was framed on the principle pursued on the
former occasion, namely the employment of a steam-pipe, to heat the
metal uniformly to the boiling point. The section of the bar, 2£ inches
by f , prevented its application in the same simple manner, by insertion
in a leaden pipe; and it was determined to employ micrometers on
the microscope principle of Troughton to read off the expansions ; —
a new apparatus was therefore constructed by Mr. H. Barrow, H. C.
Mathematical Instrument-maker, of which the following description, with
reference to the perspective view in Plate VII. will explain the nature.
A double cylindrical case a b (fig. 3) was made, 9 feet 1 1 inches in
length, and four inches in outside diameter, the inner cylinder being of
copper, the outer case of tin. The space between them was shut in at the
two ends, with perforated discs, so as to allow the bar to be inserted
freely into the inner tube. The bar was supported in the tube upon
two brass rollers, enclosed in the steam-tight square boxes at c, d, and
situated at the same distance apart as the rollers upon which the bar is
always supported in its own wooden case. (fig. 1.)
The tubes were pierced through from above in four points e, f, f 9
h, for the introduction of thermometers, the bulbs of two of which
(f, g,) penetrated into deep cavities apparently provided for the pur-
pose in the bar itself ; these were filled with mercury, to insure the right
reading of the temperature of the bar. The cylinder, a b, was supported
on two of the brass tripods of the measuring apparatus, technically
called camels, k t /, which are provided with vertical and horizontal
screw motions to adjust the position of the bar. The steam was admitted
from my small engine by a pipe at the northern extremity b, and suffered
to escape freely from the waste pipe m at the other end.
Two micrometer-microscopes, n, o, were firmly attached by screws to
two isolated solid blocks of stone, p, q, built upon the stone pavement of
the laboratory at the requisite distance apart ; the focus of the object
glasses being adjusted in true verticals to distinct vision of the minute
dots on the silver discs of the standard bar, when the latter was itself
adjusted horizontally to a perfect level by means of a theodolite placed
on the opposite side of the room.
The object of the double cylinder, according to the original design,
was, to encompass the bar with a steam jacket, and thus heat it to the
requisite point without allowing the steam itself to come in contact with,
and thus to corrode, the iron ; as well as to prevent its escape from the
two open ends, which would incommode the glasses of the microscopes :
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1838 J Expansion of Metak. 13S
it was found however at the onset that the heating of the bar in dry
air, although surrounded closely by the copper tube, was a most tedious
process, whereas it w as effected immediately by contact with the steam,
which, condensing on the colder surface of the metal, delivered its
latent heat, and did not issue from the vent until the whole apparatus
had been effectually brought to the boiling point. It was therefore a
fortunate circumstance that a leak in the inner tube, in the course of
the first experiment, threw open a communication for the steam to the
inner chamber : this was afterwards enlarged by piercing a hole through
the copper, immediately in front of the steam injection pipe b. The
only inconvenience produced therefrom was, that a little steam escaped
from the two ends where the bar necessarily projected under the
microscopes. This was however obviated by packing with cotton, and
screening the object glasses with paper. The steam issued in plentiful
clouds from die thermometer apertures/ and g.
Having thus described the apparatus as it stood during the experi-
ments, I must be allowed to add a few words on the capabilities of the
several parts of it : and first, of the micrometers. The northern mi-
croscope was immovable, bearing fine cross wires in its field, to which
the centre of the corresponding dot on the bar was brought by the
lateral screw of the camel K. The cross wires of the southern micro-
scope on the contrary had a range of about a tenth of an inch, which
it subdivided by 20 revolutions of the eentesimally-divided screw-head
into 2000 parts. The micrometer was therefore sensible to the 20000th
part of an inch, or more rigidly, each division of the index was equal
to M {„ inch, and the error of reading did not amount on several trials
to more than one or two such divisions.
Secondly. Of the thermometers. There was some difficulty in pro-
curing good instruments with naked bulbs, and it was necessary to
remove common ones from their metal scales to adapt them to the appa*
ratus, and to scratch the degrees on the tubes ; many thermometers were
broken from this and other causes. As the precaution was taken of com-
paring their boiling points, and their indications at the general tempera-
ture of the air, with a standard instrument, no error on this score was to
be feared beyond the necessary difficulty of reading off to fractions of a
degree, where the instruments were only divided to every two degrees.
The mean thermometric error cannot however be estimated at more than
0.2 of a degree, w^ich upon a range of 140 degrees will not affect the
resulting dilatation more than T ,Whs, or about 2 in the sixth place of
decimals. The fact is that the bar itself was a much more delicate
aeasurer of the mean heat of the apparatus than the thermometers.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
134 Further experimemte on the [Ma*ch;
Hie error of the readings therefore upon a length of Id feet (aasom*
lag it even to t 2| divisions of the micrometer) will not surpass
£.000001, while the error of the thermometer reading may amount
to 0.000002 : it will be seen from the tables which follow, that the
general ran of the experiments rally confirms this estimate of accuracy ;
at the same time it would be useless to carry the expression of the
dilatation beyond the sixth decimal, as is frequently done in cases less
entitled to reliance.
The order of each experiment was similar to that described in my
former paper. When several readings had been made at the temper*
ature of the room, the steam was let on and kept up for several hours,
during which the second readings were made. Cold water was not
introduced, as it took a long time to restore an equal temperature, and
it was found better to allow the apparatus to cool down gradually by
the following morning.
• It was only in the third series of experiments that the bar remained
quite stationary at the higher temperature for more than two hours. In
general it was remarked that the reading of the micrometers gave the me*
tal a maximum dilatation at the first moment of its being brought to the
boiling point, gradually falling off even to the extent of 20 divisions
(ti vi th of an inch), as the steaming continued. This was evidently not
attributable to change of temperature in the steam, for the thermometers
were not affected. I imagined that it must be produced by torsion or
curvature of the bar, from the under part of it being at first less heated
than the upper ; for, by the construction of the apparatus for steaming, it
is evident that, on the introduction of the steam, the upper parts of the
tube would become heated first, while the condensed steam collected in
the lower part of the cylinder imparted a lower temperature to the
under surface of the bar : but this would cause the bar to assume a
slight curvature upwards, which, as the supporting rollers were situ-
ated in distance one-fourth from the ends, would tend to depress the
dots below the true focus of the microscope ; the effect of this and of the
curvature would be to make the bar shorter than otherwise, so that this
explanation cannot be admitted.
Some very curious experiments, however, which are described by
Captain Kater in the Phil. Trans, for 1830, may serve to afford an
explanation of the anomaly. That gentleman found that the error in the
linear measurement of a flat bar of 36 inches in length, might amount
to .001 inch, simply by its resting upon an uneven surface, and assum-
ing a curvature therefrom, the versed sine of which amounted to no
more than .01 inch ; now the difference between the chord and the
Digitized by
Google
18*&]
Expansion of MetoU.
IS*
are is this case, is less than a hundred thousandth of an inch, and is,
therefore, inappreciable ; nor is it attempted to explain in what way
the effect observed should be one hundred times greater than could have
been expected. Captain Kater, it is true, immediately devised a reme-
dy for this anomaly, by seeking the neutral axis of the bar, and im-
printing the dots upon ledges formed at the two extremities in this
plane. The Indian standard bar was formed on this principle, the parts
bearing the dots being two-fifths in vertical height of the remainder of
the bar (figs. 1,2.): but upon a length of 10 feet, we may conceive that
a trivial error in the assumed position of this neutral axis may be suf-
ficient to account for the slight anomaly in the readings alluded to. It
wul be evident that on the slightest slackening in the supply of steam,
the upper part of the bar would become cooler than the lower, for the
same reason as given above, and a contrary flexure would thus take place
to a similar amount. By taking therefore the mean reading of each
series of experiments, we need not fear any influential error from this
source, which I have the rather pointed out on account of its apparent
confirmation of Captain Kater's curious discovery.
We will now proceed to the experiments, placing them in a tabular
form according to their dates, and correcting the thermometers, &c«
to a common standard.
First Series, 20th November, Standard Iron Bur A.
oj
Thermometers.
Hour of
Micrometer
mm
ll
In the
steam-
pipe.
Inserted in the
Bar.
Readings.
■I
Observa-
tion.
Divisions.
Observations.
North
South
O
end.
end.
o
O
-
1
75,3
77,2 ?
Noon
—1067
The indications of the
2
152,
152,0
— 82
micrometers and ther-
3
170,8
164,7
- 113
mometers were read off
4
178,6
169,7
to
- 211
simultaneously at equal
5
184,4
185,4
- 314
intervals of time, to as-
1
190,2
194,0
- 493
certain the ratio of calo-
7
212,0
212,0
4 p. if.
-1157
rific accession, but the
8
212,C
broken
-1151
opening of a leak pre-
9
210,6
212,0
-1140
vented the completion of
10
210,2
212,6
-1133
the series.
11
213,3
212,8
-1152
Observers, Major Ever-
12
201,2
-1033
est and Captain WB-
13
188,9
- 806
cox.
D&Te
tmap*
renceofl
nature, J
13
6,0
dilatation}
2213
Digitized by
Google
136
Further Experiments on the
[Maici,
Second Series, 2\st November 1832. Standard \0feet Bar.
^i
Thermometers.
Micrometer
-
U C
Inserted in the
Readings.
I-
In the
steam-
Bar.
Hour of
Reading.
~, . ' ; *
Observations. , ^
i 4. \
5? en
c
pipe.
North
end.
South
end.
Divisions.
>tk
1
o
80,1
o
77,9
o
78,0
H. M.
—1050
Focal distance of Mi-
2
79,9
77,6
77,5
3 49 p.m.
—1071
crometer 2,15 inches;
3
214,2
212,5
212,0
+ 1127
barometer 29,97 inches;
4
214,2
212,6
212,0
+1116
+1099
stopcock of steam-pipe
5
217,2
212,4
212,0
frequently opened sod
6
215,4
212,8
212,5
+ 1114
closed during this se-
7
212,6
208,2
211,6
+ 1083
ries.
8
9
215,1
214,8
214,4
211,4
212,3
212,5
211,9
212,4
212,1
5 p.m.
+1089
+1101
+1106
Readings by Msjor
Everest and Cant Wfl.
11
71,3
71,3
71,5
—1198
*
12
72,7
72,2
7 a. m.
—1175
On the following mor-
13
71,6
71,3
—1185
ning Capt. W. and J. P.
Diffe
rence of i
erature, 3
rising, l;
54,6
dilatation 2171
Omitting Nos. 7 48.
temp*
falling, 1'
10,6
do.
2296
Third Series, 22nd November. Same Bar.
1
2
3
4
-8
6
7
8
72,7
73,9
213,9
212,0
212,0
212,0
76,3
70,7
72,6
74,4
212,6
212,4
212,4
212,4
81,8
71,7
72,5
74,5
212,7
212,2
212,2
212,2
80,0
71,8
110 a.m.
12 43p.m.
2 p.m.
to
4 p.m.
5
5 p. m.
90 a.m.
— 860
— 829
+1447
+1443
+1443
+ 1443
— 774
— 926
Barometer 29^9. Wil-
cox and Prinsep.
The micrometer re-
mained perfectly sta-
tionary, for half tn hour,
and the steam-cocks
were not touched.
rejected, not evenly eooL
next morning. J. P.
Dine
temp
rence of >
erature, 5
rising, 12
falling, 13
14
18,9
U,5
0,7
dilatation
do.
do.
2288
2218
2370
single reading,
following morning.
Fourth Series, 23rd November. Same Bar.
1
72,9
73,2
73,9
1157a.m.
— 897
Barometer 30,01
2
72,9
73,4
73,9
— 896
Wilcox and Prinsep.
3
212,3
212,5
212,3
1217p.m.
+1394
4
212,5
212,5
212,3
+1394
5
211,9
212,4
212,2
+1387
6
212,7
212,5
212,2
+1379
7
212,8
212,4
212,2
125 p.m.
+1379
8
75,5
76,5
76,7
4 15 p. m.
— 872
rejected.
9
72,0
73,4
72,8
11 a.m.
— 920
following morning.
Difference of I
rising, 138,7
dilatation
2283
temp
erature,)
falling, i:
19.2
ditto.
2306
Digitized by
Google
J 833.]
Expansion of Metals.
137
Fifth Series, 24th November. Same Bar.
e?
Thermometers,
Hour
Micrometer
Readings.
in the
Steam-
pipe.
inserted in the
g|
Bar.
of
Reading.
Divisions.
Observations.
*i
North
South
-
end.
end.
H. M.
i
72,8
72,9
73,2
1140a.m.
— 906
*
72,5
72,9
73,3
1143 „
— 906
Barometer 30,02.
^
73,3
74,1
74,1
45p.h.
— 890
Wilcox and Prinsep.
4
2123
212,9
212,5
18 „
+ 1401
5
212,5
212,9 212,5
120,,
+ 1401
6
212,
212,6 212,4
1 45 „
+1395
7 211,5
212,7 212,4
2 „
+1394
Difference of \
rising, 139,2
dilatation,
2298
temp
erature, J
falling, 1.
$9,5
ditto.
2283
taking readings of 26th.
SLrth Series, 26th November. Same Bar.
71,3
723
73,3
213,0
212,3
212,9
212,5
71,5
73,1
74,1
212,3
212,3
212,4
212,2
DifTafl rising,
tmp^/ falling,
71,9
73,9
74,2
212,3
212,0
212,2
212,1
139,1
139,7
10 A. M.
1125A.M
30p.m,
10 „
2 „
215,,
240,,
— 916
— 875
— 865
+1418
+ 1405
+ 1400
+1388
dilatation,
ditto.
2288
2288
Barometer 30,02.
Wilcox and Prinsep.
following morning.
Seventh Series, 21th November. Same Bar.
70,5
72^
73,0
212,2
211,7
212 2
212,7
71,0
73,2
73,6
212,5
212,4
212,5
212,5
70,9
73,0
73,5
212,1
212,0
212,0
212,0
temperature,/ 139 ' 7
10 a.m.
noon.
30 p.m
10 „
130 „
145 „
20 „
— 910
— 875
— 869
+ 1422
+1408
+ 1404
+1398
dilatation, 2293
Barometer 29,92.
Wilcox and Prinsep.
The accordance of the observations, particularly of the latter series,
wm » satisfactory as to render their further repetition superfluous :
it now only remains therefore to arrange the data of the several
experiments in a tabular form, and to calculate the resulting dilatations
according to the usual expression of " the dimensions taken by a bar at
212*, whose length, at 32 § , is 1,000000."
Digiti
zed by G00gle
133
Further Experiments on (he
[Maec*.
Abstract of the results of the foregoing experiments on the expansion of
the Standard 10 feet Bar of Iron.
Dimensions of aj
difference
No. of
Range of
Divisions of
Total expansion
bar at 212 e whose
from the
the sc-
Temperature
the micro-
in decimal parts of
length at 32* is
mean ill
ries.
Farh.
meter.
afoot.
1,000000.
millionth*
1 r
•
136,0
2213
.0090980
1.001204
— 14
% r
134,6
2171
.0089253
1.001194
— 24
f
140,6
2296
.0094392
1.001208
— 10
3 r
138,9
2288
.0094064
1.001219
+ 1
/
/
4 r
131,5
2218 ?
.0091185
1.001248
+ 30
140,7
2370?
.0097435
1.001246
+ 28
138,7
2283
.0093858
1.001218
f
5 r
139,2
2306
.0094804
1.001226
+ 8
139,2
2298
.0094475
1.001222
+ *
/
6 r
139,5
2283
.0093858
1.001211
— 7
139,1
2288
.0094064
1.001217
— 1
/
7 r
139,7
2288
.0094064
1.001212 *
— 6
139,7
2293
.0094269
1.001214
— 4
Mean of the whole, 1.001218 |
The mean of these experiments is 1 .001218, bnt if two of the series
(doubtful because they depend on single observations), be struck out,
the dilatation will appear to be 1.001213, and the greatest deviation
hardly amounts to the one hundred-thousandth part, while the general
accordance is much within these limits. The mean of the former ex-
periments upon an iron rod of 25 feet in length was 1.001256, deter-
mined by a single heating, and therefore liable to some uncertainty :
that of another wrought iron bar to be noticed presently, was 1.001216,
which agrees so closely with the above, as well as with the results of
Smeaton and Lavoisier, that I am inclined to think there is not so much
variation due to the quality of the metal as has sometimes been sup-
posed, and that 1.001215 may be safely employed on all occasions as
the constant of expansion for wrought iron.
II. — Expansions of Gold, Silver, and Copper,
Having concluded the experiments upon the standard bar of the
trigonometrical survey, it occurred to me as very desirable to make
use of the microscopes, while fixed, to lay off a duplicate of the bar for
deposit in my own office. When this had been done, it followed that
the constant of expansion might likewise be determined with ease for
the new bar by a repetition of the same process ; — and further tibat we
might arrange alongside of the iron bar such other metals as were
readily procurable in the mint of the desired dimensions.
Captain Wilcox kindly undertook to assist me in this new series,
which was conducted in every respect with the same attention to mi-
Digitized by
Google
1833.]
Expansion of Metals.
lotf
mite accuracy as before. We prepared in the mint two laminated
straps; one of pare gold*, 10 feet two inches long, 2$ inches broad,
and about $ inch thick, weighing about 320 lbs : the other of stand*
ard silver ( T l f copper alloy), of the same dimensions or a little thicker.
The two ends were cut away, and marked with fine dots as nearly as
possible at the distance of 10 feet apart. As the run of the micrometer
was only one half of the expected expansion of the metals now to be
tried, the precaution was taken of inserting second dots about T '„th of
an inch within the first, the distance between the two dots being care-
fully measured under the microscope. I have said that the inner steam
cylinder was of copper ; all that was necessary therefore to enable us
to measure the expansion of this metal "along with the rest, was to fix
two small tongues to the two extremities of the tube, projecting under
the focus of the microscopes, and bearing the marks for measurement.
For consistency I will insert the new series of experiments with the
same detail as before, to enable other experimenters to judge of the
measure of confidence due to our simple but somewhat tedious inves-
tigation.
Eighth Series of Experiments on Expansion.
Thermometers.
Readings of the micrometer.
Day.
In Bar.
Steam
Iron.
Gold.
Silver.
Copper.
Sooth.
North.
pipe.
(add 2525.)
(add 2277.)
(add 2297.)
Not.
30.
•
7M
76,2
7M
76,7
•
76,4
77,6
[—904,5
—891,5
—906
—959
Noon
ttl,7
212,2
213,2
r.
211,9
212,2
213,2
+ 1290
—758,5
+358
t-140
to
211,6
212,1
213,8
211,9
212,2
214,3
' +1275
5 P. M.
211,8
211,8
212,1
212,0
213,0
211,2
. +1269
—776
+360
—129
211,9
211,9
212,1
212,0
212,7
214,0
• + 1279
—768
+362
—129
/.
lit Dec
7 a.m.
72,9
72,4
71,6
71,6
71,4
71,6
;!— 1023
—960
—937
—1058
•
Ascending range, 135,6
dilatation, 2182
2649
3543
3133
Desce*
cling do
. 139,9
ditto.
2301
2718
3574
3222
Ninth Series.
Dec. 1.
Noon
to
4 P. M.
76,0
76,2
211,6
211,8
211,9
75,6'
76,0
212,2
212,1
212,1
76,5
76,5
213,4
214,4
212,2
>— 967
+ 1266
+ 1267
+ 1254
—913
—798
—799
—805
—864
+358
+365
+364
—979
—157
—141
—197
Ascending range,136,0 dilatation, 2229 2637 3503 3098
• Of the old gold mohur standard, or 1 car. 3f gr. Br., which, as far as such expe-
riments go, may be deemed pure.
t Before this experiment, die holt had been pierced through- the copper cylinder.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1*0' Further Experiments on the [Ma***/
I should have premised, that to prevent the straps of gold and silver
from carving within the cylinder, when heated, they were held fiat,
one on each side of the iron bar, by coils of copper wire at distances of
six inches apart — these were not so tightly bound as to impede free
motion longitudinally.
At this period of the experiments it was determined to anneal the
gold and silver bars, to observe what difference would be caused in
their rate of dilatation thereby, as well as what would be the perma-
nent elongation due to this change of condition.
To effect the annealment of such long slips of metal in the most
equable manner without endangering loss or accident, required certain
precautions. They were laid upon a flat bar of wrought iron, supported
at distances of a foot asunder by fire-bricks, as represented in fig. 4,
PI. vii. Their whole length was then enveloped in gobar, or cakes of
cowdung, in the same manner as is practised in heating the felly of
a wheel. The heat was thus gradually raised, until the whole length
was uniformly of a glowing red. But, not to lose the opportunity
which this experiment afforded of ascertaining the relative expansions
of the three metals at this higher temperature, an iron stake bad been
firmly fixed in the ground at one end of the bars, against which all three
were made to abut firmly : the other ends were connected by an inter-
mediate brass rod (kept cold) with the nonius of a sliding scale placed
on the ground in a line with the bars, so as to measure off their elonga-
tion with great facility . The results, and the temperature by Farenheh's
thermometer founded on the assumption of an equal rate of expansion
throughout the scale of each metal, were as follows.
Absolute expansion in inches. Deduced tenpentam
The gold, placed uppermost, 1.638 1787°
The silver, in the middle, 2.008 1655
The iron, undermost, 1.240 1609
That the upper position was much hotter than the lower was evident,
nor does it seem surprising that the difference of temperature should have
been so much as 180 degrees. No knowledge therefore could be gained
on the point sought, namely, the relative ratios of expansion ; but the
method of operating is itself capable of further application, and I hope
hereafter to be able to pursue it to more conclusive results.
The absolute elongation of the precious metals, by annealment, was
measured by placing them once more under the microscopes at the
same temperature as before, (7 7°. 2.) It was found to be much less than
was calculated from the difference of specific gravity before and after
annealment, shewing that the compression under the rollers was in the
gold 20, in the silver 8, times greater in the transverse than in die
longitudinal direction. The results were as follows;
zed by G00gle
18330'
Expansion of Metals:
HI
Specific gnmty
bard.
19,313
10,404
19,136
10,239
Increase
of
volume.
,00925
,01611
Elongation by annealment,
in parts of in decimal parts of J
an inch. 10 feet unit.
,01973
,08244
,000164
,000687
'gold,
S*er, I
t ' f alloy, i
To compare the relative expansions, the increase of bulk, or volume, must
be divided by three, to reduce it into linear elongation, when, as before
stated, the transverse will be found much to exceed the longitudinal ex-
pansion.
Having explained the objects and results of this digression, and ima-
gining the ban replaced as before, we will proceed to the remainder of
the experiments with the steaming apparatus :
Tenth Series.
Thermometer,
Headings of the micrometer.
in bar
in
steam.
Iron.
Gold
(add 2525)
Silver
(add 4065)
Copper
(add 2297)
Day.
south.
north.
Dec. 3,
Noon
to
5 P.M.
e
78,5
79,2
212,1
212,0
212,0
211,9
78,3
79,2
211,8
212,0
212,0
211,7
211,5
— 937
+1279
+ 1267
+1264
—449
—383
—381
+865
+224
+222
—965
—240
A sec
ferent
Dibu
tween <
nding temperature, dif-
for each metal,
tation (adding space be-
iote),
133,6
2207
o
133,4
2592
o
133 : 1
3423
132,8
3022
r
Eleventh Series.
Dec 4.
10
to
78,4
78,6
212,3
212,2
78,4
78,6
212,0
212
full
steam
* w M 212,1 212,1 (steam
ar.M. 2U j 2U9 legg)
Range of temper, ascending, .
Ditto fin- last readings,
Dflatatkm, first readings, .
Second ditto,
— 911
—445
+865
—977
+1278
+1266
—377
—401
+227
+220
—203
—202
+1204
+1202
—404
+175
—226
o
133,7
133,6
133,7
133,6
o
133,7
133,6
133,5
133,5
2183
2114
2593
2566
3423
3375
3071
3048
; In this last series the steam was allowed to run down on purpose to
try the effect : and it will be seen that it was sensibly felt by all the
metal bars, even while the mercurial thermometer scarcely indicated the
fall; for aa before remarked, the bars were far more sensible thermo-
meters than the small mercurial instruments.
Tbe expansion however by the last experiment has been purposely cal-
culated* to shew the m ^ w ^ influence of such a cause.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
14*
WwrthcT MJtpcrimtHts, etc.
[Mabch,
The general results may now be classed under their respective heads
i follows :
Duplicate Iron 10 feet Bar.
Pare Gold, rolled bard,.
annealed,...
Range of
Reading of
Deduced dilatation
temperature.
micrometer.
for W0 degrees.
135,6
2182
1,001191
139,9
2301
1,001217
136,0
2229
1,001213
133,6
2207
1,001223
133,7
2183
1,001208
133,6
2114
1,001171?
Mean, rejecting the last, ....
.... 1,00 121S
135,6
2649
1,001446
139,9
2718
1,001438
136,0
2637
1,001435
133,6
2592
1,001439
133,7
2593
1,001435
133,6
2566
1,001421?
Mean, rejecting the last, ....
.... 1,00143S
Standard Silver, ,*■ alloy,
rolled hard, i
annealed, ..
Copper annealed, bat parti-
ally hammered in making*
tube,
f 135,6 3543
139,9 3574
136,0 3503
'133,6 3423
133.7 3423
133,6 3375
Mean, rejecting the last,
136.6 3133
141,5 3222
135.8 3098
132,8 3022
133.7 3071
133,5 3048
Mean of the whole
1,001933
1,001890
1,001906
1,001896
1,001895
1,001869?
1,001904
1,001697
1,001685
1,001686
1,001684
1,001702
1,001690
1,001691
It must be remarked with regard to this series, that, besides other
sources of error, the dots, marked with a needle-point by an unskilful
hand, were rather difficult to bisect ; and further, the continual shift-
ing of the apparatus, to bring each bar successively under the focus
of the microscopes, was more than sufficient to account for irregulari-
ties greater than are observable in the present results.
In comparing the list with the former one, one is struck with the
close agreement between two metals of very different fusibility, namely,
standard silver, and brass ; a circumstance which permits the application
of silver divided circles to astronomical instruments of the lattermetnl.
Platina is by no means so well adapted for such a purpose. The opera.
tion of annealing does not seem to have the slightest effect upon the rate
of expansion, a fact well worthy of consideration, as it would be at all
times difficult to say what allowance should be made on such account,
where the degree of hardness of a metal might be uncertain.
The latest determinations of the dilatations of metals (which have
reached me since the above experiments were finished), are those of
Mr. Daniell ; but the apparatus used by him, (a plumbago tube of six
inches in length, holding a rod of the metal to be operated on,) how-
ever well adapted for approximate measurement of intense heats, is
obviously not worthy of trust for minute measures at low temperatures.
Digitized by
Google
MB.} C*ti*mtk%4rf Dr. Gerard 9 * Route. » 141
I do act therefore insert his table from the Phitosopfajoal Magaaine now
Wore me, but at once conclude with a general summary* of the dilata-
tion* which our experiments in India have established, in a maimer
wormy, I hope, of entire confidence.
Dilatations of metals determined at Calcutta.
{Standard 10 feci bar of the Trig. Surrey, 1,001213 *|
Duplicate of do. of English bar iron, . . 1,001210 1» 1,001215
Wire-drawn rod, twenty-five feet, ... . 1,001256 J
Gold, nearly pnre, (10 feet long) 1,001438
Suva*, containing one- twelfth alloy, (do.) 1,001904
Coma, sheet, annealed (do.) 1,001691
Beam, wire-drawn, annealed, (25 feet) 1,001906
Lias, doe-inch pipe, (25 feet) 1,002954
Hie apparatus used in the foregoing experiments is preserved, in case
it should ever become a desideratum to try the expansion of other metals
or su bst a nces by the same process.
W<—C<mtimMtion of Dr. J. Gerarets Route with Lieutenant Bumcs,from
Bokhdra to Meshid. jtflf,
[Extracted from letters to his brother Captain P. Gerard.]
Mtrebad, 2>\st July, 1832. We took leave of Bokhara on the 21st
ultimo, and are now in a Turkoman village, about 36 miles distant, await-
ing the arrival of the merchants, &c. who are to form the Kafila ; but we
may be here long enough, as the Vrganj army is still in our way. Ghos
Beg sent for us before starting, and made us over to the Turkomans and
Kafila hashi, with every demonstration of good will, and enjoining them
to convey us safe to Meshid at their peril. * * * *
The weather has been uniformly sultry ; — thermometer daily above
100*, even as high as 1 10°, and our sitting room is bat a few degrees
cooler, but the extreme dryness of the air counteracts the sensation of
lust. The nights have generally been pleasant and the mornings al-
ways temperate ; — thermometer 66*. Though it is now the middle of
August, the climate can scarcely be said to have changed, except that
the nights are cooler.
Meshid, 17 th September, 1832. — Here we are safe in Persia, after a
journey of no ordinary difficulty. We left the village (MirabadJ so
long our prison, on the 16th of August, and crossed the Oxus on the
following morning, intending (as we had believed upon faithless resolu-
tions), to accomplish the trip in fifteen or sixteen days. Our first de-
tention commenced at Sarjui on the bank of the river, but as this
Digiti
zed by G00gle
144 Continuation of Dr. Gerartts Route. [Mascb*
-was not occasioned by any untoward event we cared less. Other Km*
fila$ joined us here, and on the 91st we resumed the journey across the
-desert. The weather had undergone a great change, and was now
temperate. We almost immediately entered amongst sand heaps, which
succeeded in rising heights, and extended till they bordered the horizon
on all sides ; and the Stomal or north wind sweeping away the loose
surface, made it appear like the sea spray, while the heaps themselves
represented the waves. The camels trod heavily through the sand
drifts, and the horses plunged as if they were fording a river. Several
belts of this sort occurred between them, tracts of sand covered with
bushes or shrubs, and then a ridge of the desert composed of hillocks
or sand waves, which at a distance looked like a vast rotter just going
to break. Scarce any track is visible, the wind defacing the prints
of the -camels' feet ; but there is a general line of route which is fol-
lowed. The sand heaps are of every size and shape, but have com-
' monly their cliff to the south ; deep chasms are formed by the junction
of their bases, and basins or cavities which would resemble pools if
filled with water. The scene was quite new and magnificent. It was
altogether a wilderness. We passed several dead carcases of camels
and horses, the drivers of which, having missed the wells, killed some
of them for sustenance. Most of the wells were saliferous, but the water
answered for our horses and some of the people, who live little better.
The climate had evidently turned from its extreme temperature, and
in this respect we had not to complain. The nights, contrary to ex-
pectation, were very mild. A very long march brought us to a well of
bad water, after having been without any except what we brought from
a distance. This was a relief the more grateful, as we had nearly missed
the spot, and perseverance alone in feeling for the road kept us in m
proper direction, till the barking of a dog announced our proximity to a
Turkoman camp. On the 27th we reached a baked arid plain, on
which was planted a tented village of Turkomans. Here we were to
be taxed by the Urganj authorities, who came down to us from the
ancient city of Mdwur or Myhr, now almost level with the face of
the desert, and no longer an inhabited spot. The Urganj army
was close upon us, but on their homeward route. On the 28th the
collector arrived, and inspected the Kofila. The merchants presented
him, as customary, with various articles : we sat mute in our camel
panniers, and were duly reported as Musdfirs upon a pilgrimage to the
places of fire worship ; our offering to the taxman consisted of loaf
sugar and tea. Our prodigality was nearly ruining us ; fortunately a
Russian merchant (a Mahomedan who traded to Russia, whose avarice
Digitized by
Google
WM From Bokhdra to MeMtL itf
bill eoaqvered all pride of self-sufficiency), from a regard to his own
interests, checked our liberality, and instead of presenting a couple of
»ngar-loaves and a handful of tea, broke off the end of one, and with a
few raisins made up our nazar.
Several of his train peeped into our creels and asked after our
business, and were quite satisfied on being told that we were Afghans
from Kabtti ; so little are those people acquainted with the colour and
characteristics of Europeans. In this respect, therefore, our faces
are real masks, and it was here only the name of our country that we
had an object in concealing, since to the services of those in Abbas
Mirza's army especially, not a little of the bad feeling'between the
Khan of Urganj and the Persians is owing. Russians and Englishmen
are alike their enemies, or rather the Urganjis are hostile to both. In
the afternoon we ventured out of our camel baskets as the enemy was
departing, but as some of his dependents were lingering behind we
were warned back. In the evening we got out and laughed heartily at
the transaction. In truth we were quite at our ease all the time, not
believing that there was an individual in our camp who had any object
in betraying us ; but it was not long till we discovered that wretches are
to be found in every community, and people whose fair faces belie their
feelings. We had only a week's march between us and Meshid, and
we started again with fine prospects.
On the 1st of September we came in sight of the mountains of Persia,
and next day arrived at ShiraJcs, a Turkoman village with a fort. Here
we were to be taxed, but misfortunes seldom come single ; and if the mer-
chants had to complain of an imposition, we certainly had not bargained
for a share of their burdens and a load of our own besides. While in
our former embarrassment near Myhr, we superadded to it the plea-
sant prospect of meeting a body of Allemans, whom the merchants of
our Kafila actually saw marched off upon a predatory excursion to
the borders of Me$Md. The tax-gatherer, who had an interest in the
■afetyof the KafiUu, exacted a promise from them, that should they
Croat our path we had nothing to fear : but a robber's pledge is like
lover's vow graved upon some insect's filmy wing, and lasts only till the
bait is thrown out. No fewer than seven hundred of those armed ruf-
fians were thus let loose. At Shiraks we learnt that the Allemans
were tuU in pursuit of booty, and the Kafila took up its position till
they should have passed us on their return. Apprehensions were now
tamed into real horror, at least with me, when we beheld the cold-blooded
monsters racing into the village, with their spears poized and their
hstna almost dead from fatigue in their infernal occupation. They
Digiti
zed by G00gle
146 Continuation of Dr. Gerard 8 Route [Makcb,
brushed past our encampment, some of them stopping and conversing
with the Kafila, and relating their adventures to the merchants, who in
pursuance of their trade took a heartless interest in that of the rob-
bers, as upon their success more or less would rest their own security.
Upwards of 100 Kuzlbashes were seized for the Bokhdra market,
and a number of camels and cows which they drove off from within
sight of the walls of MesMd. Their encampment was close to us, and
we were almost tempted to take a look at it. Some of the Allemans
were disabled, while their horses were scarce able to carry them.
Many hod returned empty-handed, finding the work too heavy; all
those who touched at the village came for refreshment or to visit
their friends. This is a strange state of society, yet these intrepid
adventurers, when seen in the ordinary relations of life, are not
only sociable companions, but even prepossessing in their natural
simplicity and easy manners. The guard of Turkomans we had
were the same people, and every individual of it could enumerate his
exploits in the inglorious field ; but this is perhaps not quite fair, as it
requires a considerable share of courage to meet the various perils of
their vocation: pillage alone is their aim, and, of all others, human
beings are their greatest prize ; nor is it much to be wondered at that,
amongst people who are naturally prone to rapine, their fellow creatures
should be most coveted, as long as the infamous markets of Bokhara
and Urganj offer a premium for the traffic. The Russians have, I
believe, succeeded in restraining slavery as regards Bokhara : but what
reliance is to be placed upon any compact that is both adverse to mer-
cenary interests and religious zeal ? There are several hundred Rus-
sian slaves now in the dominions of the Bokhdra dynasty, and as long
as Turkomans offer them for sale there will be purchasers ; and what
does Russia know of her black population or of her fugitive soldiers,
who wander amongst half savage hordes at the extremities of her ter-
ritory ? At Shiraks there was a Persian girl of unquestionable beauty
who had been in slavery for a couple of years, with the Turkomans of
course ; her transfer was delayed in hopes of an enhanced price, and a
Kafila which followed us, picked her up at what may appear a high va-
luation, if indeed we can make any estimate of what is in itself unappt*-
ciable ! But you will excuse me for treating the subject in thia loose
way, having resided so long in a quarter of our own dominions whore
female slavery is as notorious as the sun at noon day, and if not quilt
so glaring, is, I fear, scarcely less remarkable, while it is as geaial to
the people's feelings as his rays to their frozen solitudes. The Persian
gid was sold for upwards of 60 tiias, more than 420 rupee*, a i
Digitized by
Google
1833.} From Bokhara to Me$kul. 147
that would purchase at least a dozen of females in the Himalayan re<-
■gions. When this infernal traffic is so profitable, can we expect that
the hungry Ttirkomans of the desert will restrain their cupidity for
toman flesh ?— but this is a subject for sages in their closet, and not for
travellers.
Our detention at Shiraks till the roads were cleared of lingering
robbers was necessarily prejudicial to us, as we were still in the Ur-
ftmj territories, though virtually subject to Abbas Mirza : but you
may judge of his authority by the successful obtrusions of the Turkc-
mans even to the gates of this holy city. Our protests against imposi-
tion on the previous occasion of paying taxes had given umbrage to
several of the merchants, who seemed to have leagued together to make
-what they could of us ; and finding us still self-confident, had recourse
to the mean tricks natural to the trade, and betrayed us. We were now
to he locked up in the fort till the Khan of Urganj sent for us ; and
at first we saw nothing but certain misfortune, slavery at the very least,
*nd we prepared for flight with the evening's twilight at the risk of
falling into the hands of the Allemans, or half perishing for thirst in
the desert. When thus turning over our thoughts, one of the mer-
chants, a Persian, whose state of health had made him extremely grate-
ful for our curative attentions, relieved us from our suspense, and, toge-
ther with the avaricious Russian trader, offered to conciliate the Tur-
koman chiefs, and pass us off as pilgrims or any other species of wander-
ers. A couple of tilas and a little tea and sugar, with sweet words,
satisfied their expectations ; but fortune favoured us more than our
presents, as it happened that our friend the Persian was a most inti-
mate acquaintance of the very people who pressed us so closely. Hav-
ing got out of this snare, we divested ourselves of every comfort we
might have had over our fellow travellers, sat in the sun or in our
creels, and ceased to cook our dinner as usual, as the fire collected
•a swarm of Ttirkomans as a candle does insects. Still delayed, new
difficulties arose, a plot to extort money or tea was again begun, and
our apprehensions of rumours of our disguise reaching the chiefs of the
Urganj army were too well grounded. A fresh body of Allemans had
issued from Mdwar, and were approaching Meshid ; our consternation
was further raised on learning that Abbas Mirza's Elchee (ambassador)
on his way to Herat was seized by the very people we were amongst,
and was actually a prisoner in irons in the village, so that on every
side we were environed by difficulties of one sort or other ; at last a
JZaJUa from Me$hid made its appearance, and our irresolute associates
-got under weigh, much to our satisfaction, after nine days of the most
u 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
148 Continuation of Dr. Gerard? s Route, %c. [Match,
irksome durance, though we were not entirely without amusement
during part of the time, but upon the very threshold of a friendly port
■uch provoking interventions were quite unsupportable. Even here
we were obliged to take in a supply of water. On the 1 1th we resum-
ed our journey, and on the 12th crossed the mountain frontier of Persia
or rather Khorasan, which is continuous with the hills which trend
along the Oxus and run into Hindu Rush. They are about 4,000
feet in height (water boiling at 205f°), and support the plains of Persia
which have a very considerable elevation.
At midnight of the 12th we were thrown into confusion by a report
of an encampment of robbers. The Kafila closed up in a great hurry;
the camels were instantly squatted upon their knees and packed toge-
ther ; the utmost regularity prevailed ; fear having overcome their sur-
prise, both men and beasts were silent ; the camels, as if they had beat
accustomed to such scenes, trembled and sat still. The armed men
stood in front waiting the assault. I found myself close to a pair of
women who were bustling about seeking comforters, but I felt rather
abashed in such company, and making my way over camels* backs and
bales of goods got outside, followed by our Haji Baba, who though
a very respectable man in his calling had no idea of showing fight, and
entreated me to make myself snug ; but his alarm was soon allayed, for
the enemy was not forthcoming, and the people we dreaded were equal-
ly afraid of us. They were travellers like ourselves. Had they been
Allemans we should have made but a poor figure in the contest, for not
half of us would have come to the scratch, as the phrase is, and too
surely the remainder would not have kept it up after the first onset
In the evening we were within ten miles of Meshid, and before making
a final start of it, a custom-house officer paid us a visit, and delighted
us by intimating that Captain Shee was at Meshid, where news of some
kind or other must await us ; but as Abbas Mirza was besieging a fort
in the neighbourhood, we could not reconcile the report. An hour be-
fore day-break on the 14th saw us at the gates of this city, and we are
now amongst Persians all gay and courteous, anew scene entirely, — no
more Usbeks ! We were very fortunate in having met with Mrs. Shee
here, who invited us to breakfast and dinner, and shewed us every
attention and kindness. There is also a Serjeant in charge of the
arsenal, who is particularly useful to us ; he has engaged to keep a re-
gister of the thermometer here for me. We are going out to the prince's
camp, 100 miles from this. He has just taken a fort, and concluded
his campaign. Lieut. B. will thence go on to Tehran, but I must return
here and start with a Kafila for Herat. The road is far from safe, but
Digitized by
Google
1*33.] Asiatic Society. 149
I only require to be with the Kafila to be protected. This is a fine
city : the scene is entirely new. I am forced to make an abrupt con*
elusion to be ready for the Chop (post). * * *
10th October, I have been at the prince Royal's camp, about 90
miles from this. Lieut. Burnes there left me for Astrabad and the
Caspian. We found Captain Shee, Mr. Brouski and Mr. Beck in camp,
til living in the Persian style : they were very kind to us. Captain
Shee and I went to the Turquoise mines, and since my return to this
I have not been very well. Every body here is also sick. My journey
to Herat is all fixed. I saw Yar Mohammed Khan, Prince Kamran's
minister, who received me extremely civilly, but I am cautious in put*
ting myself under any obligations."
V. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, 27th March, 1833.
The Honorable Sir Edward Ryan in the Chair.
The Proceedings of the last meeting were read.
Lieut. A. Barnes, Assistant Resident at Cutch, was elected a Member.
C. Telfair, Esq. President, and Mons. J. Desjardins, Secretary, of the
Natural History Society of Mauritius, were on the favorable report of the
Committee of Papers, elected Honorary Members.
Read letters from Captain Henderson and Mr. F. J. Halliday, expressing
their reluctance in being obliged to withdraw from the Society.
Read a letter from J. C. Morris, Esq. Secretary to the Madras Literary
Society, &c requesting that copies might be made for the use of Cavelly
Venkata Laehmia pundit, formerly in the employ of Colonel Colin Macken-
zie, of the English Catalogue of the late Colonel's collection of inscriptions.
Ordered that such information as can be given, regarding the Transla-
tions of Colonel Mackenzie's collection of inscriptions, be forwarded in reply
to the Mad. Lit. See.
The Secretary announced that materials were collected for another vo-
hune of Researches, and that it was for the Society to determine whether it
should continue to publish in the same form as heretofore.
The Native Secretary submitted a memorandum on the subject, of which
the following is the substance : —
The first five volumes were printed by the Calcutta Gazette Press on its own
account, and copies supplied to Members at 20 Rs. each, after which the Society
took the responsibility of publication. Until 1810 a charge was made for the
rolome ; thenceforward Subscribing Members received their copies gratis.
The sale of the Researches either in India or in Europe has been very limited.
The cost of printing, gradually reduced from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 4500 per volume, has
Digiti
zed by G00gle
150 Asiatic Society. [March,
amounted from the time that the Society became its own publisher 'to, Rs. 82000
While the return by sales has been { ! n England, Rs. 3200
J I in India, 6000 9200
leaving a balance of loss on 13 volumes, Rs. 72,800
Baboo Ram Comal Sen proposed that in future the matter for publication should
be transmitted to Europe, where a printer may be found to print it on his own
account, Mr. Wilson kindly correcting the press*.
After some discussion a Committee composed of Dr. J. Tytler, Major
Benson, Dr. J. T. Pearson, and Mr. J. R. Colvin, was appointed to consi-
der on the best mode of publishing the continuation of the Researches.
Extract of a letter from J. P. Royle, Esq. to the Secretary was read, an-
nouncing the intended publication of hie " Illustrations of the Botany and
Physical Geography of the Himalaya mountains and Kashmere."
Library.
The following books were laid on the table : —
Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. xi. 2nd part, and
vol. xii. 1st part — presented by the Society.
Professor Buckland's account of the animal and vegetable remains and of
rocks collected in Ava by Mr. Crawfurd — by the author, through Dr. Watikk.
Ditto on the occurrence of the remains of elephants, &c in the frozen
mud of Behrings Straits-^oy ditto.
Proceedings of the Royal Asiatic Society at the Anniversary Meeting of
Saturday, 7th June, 1832— presented by the Society.
Proceedings of the Mauritius Natural History Society, for September and
October, 1832 — by the Society.
Journal Asiatique, No. 56, August, 1832— -from the Asiatic Society of Paris.
Meteorological Register for February— -from the Surveyor General.
Syr-uLMutakherin, 1st volume— presented by the publisher and editor, Mufoi
Abdul Mojid,
Anglo-Persian Anecdotes, translated by Krishnachundra Ghose. — Pre-
sented by Raja Kdlikrishna Buhddur.
The following works, received from the Oriental Translation Fond of
Great Britain and Ireland.
Fraser's Annals of the Turkish Empire, from A. D. 1591 to 1659, 1st rot
Stewart's Teskereh at VaAidt, or Private Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor Hu-
mayon, 1 vol.
Klaproth's San Kotf Tsou Ran To Sets, ou Apercu general des trois Royaumee,
with a volume of plates.
Stenzler's Raghuvansa, Kalidasae Carmen, Sanskrits et Latine^ 1 vol.
The Geographical work* of Sa dik Isfahani, translated by J. C.
Jutien's //oti Lan-ki, ou l'histoire du cercle, de craie, drame en prose et en vera.
1 vol.
* This is however hardly a fair way of stating the case : the members are in fret
the purchasers of the Society's volumes, which they pay for by their subscriptions.
Publication is the main object and the main expence of every literary association j
without which it would be of comparatively little utility or interest to the world.
zed by Google
MSS.1 Asiatic Society. 151
Cat Bright mym^wl M m Mhert* , a History of the Mahommedan Power in India
during the last century, 1st vol.
Ataineoa'e Shah Nameh-of Firdaosi* translated in versa and prose, 1 vqh
Fourth Annnual Report of the Oriental Translation Fund.
The following books received from the book-sellers :
Gray*! Indian Zoology, part xii.
Lardner's Cyclopedia, Spain and Portugal, vol. 4.
Natural History.
1. Dr. Wallich, Superintendent H. C.'s Botanic Garden, presented in the
name of Professor Buckland, specimens of the coprotite, or fossil atbum-
grwcum, from the Hat of Lyme-regis, Dorset.
Some of these fossils are in their rough state, some are cut and polished, and
there are plaster casts of other specimens in Dr. B.'s collection.
3. A fragment of fossil bone, brought by himself from Jabalpur, was pre-
sented by Major Benson.
This fragment is enveloped in a hard greenish siliceous coat, which has also
penetrated into the pores of the bone in many parts, and has taken the place of its
animal matter, probably by the same process of infiltration which is observed in
foaafl wood from the same part of India.
3. A further selection of the fossil shells of the Himalaya were received
from Captain P. Gerard, on the part of his brother, Dr. J. Gerard*
Several of these sheus differ from those depicted in the Rev. R. Everest's psper
in the Physical Transactions, and will form the subject of a supplementary plate.
Read extract of a letter from Lieut. Barnes, presenting specimens of As-
bestos found between Peshawar and Kabul ;—
Ditto Native Muriate of Ammonia from the province of Hissar> north of
the Oxus;—
Ditto of the sand or silt suspended in the river Oxus ; —
Ditto of sand from the Kharasm Desert between the Oxus and the Cas-
The President communicated tbe following circular, with a request from
tbe Rev. W. Whewell of Cambridge, for any information which Members of
the Asiatic Society might be able to supply on the subject of the tides of
the Indian Coasts.
Aaeyet fso» for Person* who have opportunities to make or collect observation* of
the Tide*.
•* It was shewn by Newton, nearly 150 years ago, that the fact of the Tides and
several of their circumstances, resulted from the law of the Universal Gravitation,
of matter. But in this interval of time scarcely any thing has been done which
might enable ns to combine into a general view the phenomena of the Tides as they
take place ta all the different parts of the world ; and at very few places have good
and c o n t inu ed o b s erva tions been made and published. It is conceived that by
collecting such observations as have been made, or may easily be made, the con*
nesrion sad relation of the Tide* of all the parts of the Ocean may be in a short
time dearfy made out ; and that persons may be induced to make such careful
•ftSCTTstkms as naay serve ta be compared with the theory. In this hope the pre-
sett psper is circulated.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
152 Asiatic Society. [March,
The most useful Observations with reference to our general knowledge of the
Tides are the following, beginning with those which are most easily made :
1. The Observation of the Time of High water at a known place, on any dsy,
and especially at new and roll moon.
2. The Observation of the Time of High water on several days in succession at
the same place.
3. The Observation of the Height of several successive Tides at the same place,
4. Observations of the comparative Time of High water on the same day at
different places in the same seas.
1. An observation of the Time of High water at a given place on amy knows
day may be useful.
If the Time of the Moon* e eouthing on the same day be noted, this will fkcffitate
the use of the observation, and will furnish an additional evidence of the correct-
ness of the date.
The Time of High water on the days of New and FuU Moon is more partiadari/
useful than on other days.
Observations of the Time of High water may be made with sufficient accuracy
without a tide-post. A place ought to be selected where the water is tolerably
™2. If there be opportunity at any place, it is desirable to observe the Tune of
High water every day for a fortnight.
If it be ascertained that the two tides on the same day occur at regular inlenab,
one of them only need be observed.
But there are often irregularities in the relative Times of the morning and even-
ing Tide ; and these irregularities are different for different ages of the moon. Is
this case both daily Tide* sbould be observed.
3. A single observation of the Height of the Tide is not of much value. Bat
a Seriee of Heights for a fortnight U valuable, especially if accompanied with ob-
servations of the times.
The morning and evening Tide are often unequal, and this inequality someonei
varies considerably from one fortnight to another.
In observations of the Height of the Tide, the difference of High and Low teeter
ought to be token.
The channel of a river is not a good situation for such observations.
4 The usefulness of tide observations will be greatly increased if those made at
places in the same seas can be compared so as to shew the Ratr at whkktkt
Tide wave travels : m
For example, the time which it employs in passing along a certain line of coast,
or across a sea, or round an island, or up a bay.
N B —The Tide wave is the elevation of the waters by which High water iapro-
duced in many places at once. It is not observed as a visible wave, but is found by
drawing a line upon the globe through all the places at which it is high water at a
certain moment. The rate and direction of its travelling are known by company
the position of such lines at successive times. ^^mti*
N. B.— The Ratr at which the Tide wave Travels is quite distinct from wc
rate at which the stream of ebb or flow rams.
N. B.— Also the Direction in which the Tide wave travels is quite distinct ftoa
the direction in which the tide eebe orjlowe.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833-] Asiatic Society. 153
The most proper observations for determining the rate and coarse of the Tide
wave are those of the Time of High water on th§ $am§ day at d&ertnt pointt (not
too near nor too remote) on a continued line of coast or sea.
This may often be done by a person residing in any country by making enqui-
ries of persons conversant with the coasts, or by directing corresponding observa-
tions to be made at different places for a few days only.
If the places differ much in longitude, this ought to be noted, that allowance may
be made for the difference of the absolute time of noon.
If there be any uncertainty as to the rate and course of travelling of the tide be-
tween two places, the doubt may best be removed by obtaining observations at some
intermediate point or points.
It is necessary to distinguish the Time of High water at the month of a deep bay
or sound, from the time of High water further in. The former is to be taken in
all such comparisons as are here spoken of.
Large islands and long promontories much disturb the regular progress of the
Tide ware.
Comparative Observations of the Height at different places in the same seas, es-
pecially if combined with those of the Times, may also be of great value.
All communications concerning any observations of the above kinds made or to
be made in any part of the world will be thankfully received. They may be ad-
dressed to the care of the Sec. Asiatic Society, or direct to
The Rev. W. Whewsll, Trinity College, Cambridge ;
or, at the Royal Society, London ;
or the Astronomical Society, London."
The President read a letter handed to him by Dr. Strong, addressed to
Major Benson, Mil. Sec to the Right Honorable the Governor General, de-
scribing the progress and present condition of the borings in Fort William,
with the opinion of Sergeant Reid upon the causes of the repeated failures ;
and suggesting that the Government should continue the experiment upon its
relinquishment by the Society : Major Benson explained that the present
reference to the Society had for its object to obtain their opinion as a body
upon four essential points before recommencing operations ; — the probability
of ultimately finding a spring ; — the expediency of making the further at-
tempt ; — the mode of avoiding such accidents as have hitherto impeded the
auger : — and the estimated expense.
After some discussion, the following members were nominated a Committee
to draw up a report with advertence to these points. Dr. Mill, V. P. Dr.
Wallich, Dr. Langstaff, Mr. Seppings, Captain Forbes, and Dr. Casanova.
Antiquities.
Read extracts of a letter from Lieut. A. Buraes, presenting to the Society
eleven of the coins collected by himself in his recent visit to Manikyala.
Two or three of these coins are in excellent preservation, with very decipherable
Greek inscriptions, and are thus proved to be of Bactrian fabrication : — they bear
the several devices of the equestrian figure ; — the man in the tunic ; — the elephant; —
Ac. and agree in other respects with the coins described in Mr. Wilson's paper
z
Digiti
zed by G00gle
154 Madras Literary Society. [March,
plate II. Not. 25, 26, 27, 28, Ac.) : there are others of a pureHindee character ; hat
as Lieut. Burnes will soon he in Calcutta with the remainder of the coins procured
by him, any further notice may better be deferred until his arriraL
Literary.
A paper was read on the marriage rites and usages of the Jilts of Bnarai-
pur, by J. S. Lushington, Esq.
The marriage of Balwant Sinh, the present Raja of Bharatpur, to the daughter of
the Bechore Raja, in May 1832, afforded the author an excellent opportunity of
witnessing the numerous ceremonies punctiliously observed in its solemnization at
Deeg. Mr. Lushington describes the betrothal — the tika or marriage present — the
settlement of a fortunate day by the pandits, and the consequent transmission of
the lagan patri, or bride's horoscope, to the bridegroom, which is considered to dose
the marriage. Connubial feasts and concerts are then given in the parents' houses.
The youth is anointed with jasmine oil, and makes pooja and offerings to the fa-
mily potter* '# wheel, to Sitla the goddess of the small-pox, and to the gohra or
place in which the filth of the palace is deposited : this is said to typify the increase
of progeny, as the heap of rubbish continually augments ! The ceremony of the Ma/
succeeds, in which rice and other presents, of horses, elephants, &c. are given t#
the parohite, the Rani and Raja and their attendants, by the brothers and other
male relations. Deputations from foreign courts succeed. The Barai or marriage
procession starts from the temple of the bridegroom's mahamt or head priest (be had
not a family g6r&), and is attended with much splendour. Upon its arrival at Che
bride's bouse the ceremonies of tdran and horn take place. The former consists in
striking the image of a bird with a sheathed sword ; — the latter, the burnt-offering
and adoration of water, are described as the most interesting parts of the perform-
ance—they are followed by the Kanyaddn or giving away of the bride — the
Pradahthana, the Aghuna, and the marriage hymns.
The bride is then carried borne, when feasting and curious games, resembling
" snapdragon and bran-cake," amuse the young couple.
After three days' residence with her lord, the bride returns to her parents for three
or five years, when she is brought away with the ceremony oigona or gaman — bat
this may be dispensed with by the performance of phir-pattah, or changing the
stools of the bride and bridegroom when the horn is celebrated.
VI. — M adr a 8 Literary Society.
General Meeting held at the College on Saturday, 26th January* 1833.
The HonTble Sir R. Palmer, President, in the Chair.
The Secretary (J. C. Morris, Esq.), laid before the Meeting a statement
of the funds of the Society in both its branches.
Captain Chase, Lieut-Col. Coombs, A. Robertson, Esq. and Capt. Row-
landson, were elected the Committee of management.
W. Hudleston, Esq. and Capt. Rowlandson, were added to the Committee;
of papers.
Donations of various books from individuals and societies,— of a Banriha
image and a gold coin, were announced.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
16*3.] MadraM Literary Society. 155
Seventeen new members had been elected since the last general meeting,
nd fourteen had retired and gone home.
Read letter from Messrs. Arbuthnot and Co., stating that they are prepared to
twar* the model of a pagoda the property of John Hodg3on, Esq., which that
gtntleman has requested may be transferred from the Madras Literary Society to
lie Royal Asiatic Society.
Ordered that the model of the pagoda in question be forwarded to Messrs. Ar-
buthnot and Co., and that a letter be addressed to the Royal Asiatic Society, ex-
planatory of the delay which has occurred in its transmission.
Read letter from Lieutenant Chalmers, forwarding a translation from the Persian
of the 1st volume of the Akbar Namah of Abool Fuzl.
Resolved, that Lieutenant Chalmers be informed that on receipt of the second
volume, the Society will be prepared to submit his work to the favourable notice of
the Oriental Translation Committee of the Parent Society in England.
Read letter from the Baron De Ferussac, requesting to be furnished through the
medium of the Society with some information regarding Minerals and Shells, in
order to enable him to finish a work he is engaged in on these subjects.
Resolved, that the Baron De Ferussac be informed, that the Society will use their
best endeavours to meet the views and wishes expressed in his letter.
Read letter from Cavelly Venkatah Lutchmiab, submitting a letter from Sir Alex-
ander Johnston, and requesting assistance from the Society.
Resolved, that Cavelly Venkatah Lutchmiab's letter be referred for the considera-
tion and report of the Committee of Papers.
Read list of books presented to the Society by a Jain Priest.
Ordered to be referred to the Committee of Papers.
Read letter from the Honorary Secretary to the Royal Asiatic Society, acknow-
ledging die receipt of several communications, and returning the Society's thanks
lor the same.
Ordered to be recorded.
Resolved, that all letters and communications which either from inadvertence or
other causes may hitherto not have received answers, be immediately replied to,
with suitable apologies ; and that it be publicly notified that all communications,
however short, which may in any way tend to elucidate the history and sciences,
arts and customs of the natives of India, whether Hindus or Mahomedans, will be
thankfully received by the Society, will receive ready attention from the Committee
of Management, and will be read at the quarterly meetings of the Society.
Resolved, that with the view of increasing the efficiency of the operations of the
Society by stimulating its supporters to exertion, regular meetings be held on the
second Thursday of the months of February, May, August and November, for the
purpose of reading the several communications which may be received, and of se-
lecting such as may be most deserving of publication.
Proposed by Lieutenant-Colonel Coombs, seconded by Mr. McDonell, and carried
by acclamation —
" That this meeting hail with peculiar satisfaction the presence of The Right
Honorable Patron of the Society, and beg to return him their grateful and respect-,
/vi acknowledgments for his promised countenance and support."
The thanks of the meeting were unanimously voted to the Honorable the Prtsi-
deat, tor hia able conduct in the chair.
x 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
166
MiMceOanema. [Mabck.
VII. — Miscellaneous.
1.— Indian Botany.
Extract— Proceeding* of the IAimaan Society, btk June.
The East India Company have presented to the Linnssan Society their magnificent
Herbarium, containing the plants collected between long. 73* to 114* E. and lat.
32* N. to the equator, by K6nig, Roxburgh, Ruttler, Russel, Klein, Hamilton,
Heyne, Wight, Finlayson, and Wallicb. It include* about 1300 genera, more than
8000 specie*, and amounts, in duplicates, to at least 70,000 specimens,— the labour*
of half a century.
For many years a large portion of these vegetable riches were stored on the
shelves of the India House, without any one sufficiently conversant in Indian Botany
to arrange and render them subservient to the cause of science. On the arrival in
this country of Dr. Wallicb, the distinguished superintendent of the Company's
Garden at Calcutta, in the year 1828,— who brought with him an immense accession
to the Herbarium from various parts of India, especially Nipal and the Burmese
Empire,— the Court of Directors instructed him to make a Catalogue of the aggre-
gate collection, and to distribute duplicate specimens to the more eminent Societies
and naturalists throughout Europe and America.
This immense labour has occupied Dr. Wallich for the last four years 5 and it is
die chief selection from these various Herbaria, destined for the museum of the
India House, which the Court of Directors have, with princely munificence, pre-
sented to the Linnssan Society.
The liberality of the East India Company has been duly appreciated throughout
the wide circle of science. It has been acknowledged by letters and addresses from
the different Societies and individuals honoured by their patronage j and this last
act of their bounty will endear them still more to the promoters of Botany, by
placing the treasures they possessed along with those of Linnsus and Smith.
The Linnssan Society purchased, two years ago, at an expense of 3000/., the col-
lections of Linnsjus and of the late excellent Sir J. E. Smith ; and since that, the
Herbarium of the Society having been further enriched by the treasures of the East,
it forms collectively one of the most interesting and important in Europe.
The East India Company have set an example of a wise and liberal policy, which
will be followed throughout the world, not only by Societies, but by those enter-
prising individuals who have, to their own honour, made large collections of the
objects of natural history 5 and it is a source of national congratulation that at
this moment the naturalists of Europe feel indebted to this country for the most
extensive contribution that was ever made to their botanical collections. We owe
this general feeling of respect towards us to the enlightened conduct of the Court of
Directors, who have done more to diffuse a knowledge of Botany than was ever
done by any Government or association of persons on the globe.
A deputation from the council of the Linnssan Society, headed by the President
Lord Stanley, waited on the Chairman of the Court of Directors, on the 26th in-
stant, with an address expressive of the high sense the Society entertains of the
honour conferred upon it by the liberality of the East India Company.
Dr. Royle'e Collection*.
We are happy to perceive by an announcement made at the last meeting of the
Asiatic Society, and which we have inserted in the advertisement sheet of the pre-
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Miscellaneous. 157
aent number, that Mr. P. J. Royle is about to give to tbe world the fruits of his
laborious researches in the Botany and Natural History of the Hills and the upper
prorinces of India. We trust that his work will meet with a full portion of the
public patronage, without which it would be ruinous to attempt the publication.
2.— Indian Geoloot.
List qf the specimens qf Rocks from the Tenasserim Archipelago y situated between
the Parallels qfl^&f/and 12* 10' N. presented to the Society, 15M Jan. 1831.
By Lieut. Lloyd, 1st Assistant to the H. C Marine Surveyor General*.
No. 1. Clay slate, from a small detached islet on the western side of Sullivan's
Island, in Lat. 10* 54' N.
No. 2. Fine grained granite, decomposing, from a-rock on the western side of
the same island, and distant about two miles more to the northward ? its top has a
very whitish appearance, perhaps from the action of the sun and salt-water.
No. 3. Quartz rock, from a rocky islet on the eastern side of Sullivan's Island,
immediately opposite to No. 1, and distant from it about one mile, the breadth of
the island in that part.
No. 4. Granitic sandstone, from a small island of a reddish brown appearance,
situated on the western side of Sullivan's Island, in Lat. 10° 58' N.
No. 5. 8andstone, from a point on the western side of Sullivan's Island, near
to the last
No. 6. Slate, from a point on the eastern side of an island named by Captain
Ross " Lord William Bentinck's Island," in Lat. 11° 40' N. It does not shew the
principal formation of the island, but merely a lump or patch on the point, and very
easOy separated with the hand, being in regular horizontal layers.
No. 7. Quartz rock, from two hill islands situated off the N. end of Sullivan's
Island, in Lat. 11* 1' N.
No. 8. Granite, from the Alligator dry rocks, which are situated off the N. end
of two islands, called by Captain Ross, " Sir Edward Owen's and Sir John Mal-
colm's Island."
Nos. 9 and 10. Granite, from Sir Edward Owen's Island, the former from the
eastern side, in Lat. 11° 13' N. and the latter from the north side, in 11° 15' N.
No. 11. Granite, from Sir John Malcolm's Island, in Lat. 11° 16' N.
No. 12. Limestone, (similar to that of Elephant rock, in the Quedah country,
described by Ward,) from a small round and steep island, in Lat. 11° 16' N. and
situated on the eastern side of Sir John Malcolm's Island.
No. 13. Jasper conglomerate, from the Northern Elephant Island, of which there
are four large and other smaller ones, between Lat. 11° ZJf and 11° 36' N. They are
from 6 or 700 to 1000 feet high, and resting on small bases, appear at a distance
like large peaked rocks : the northern one stands in six fathoms water, its sides
project outwards, so as, in parts, to admit of a boat getting underneath, and the rug-
ged pieces of the rock beneath, at a little distance, resemble stalactites, of which
the specimens are pieces that have been knocked off.
* This list should have been printed with the proceedings of the same date, hat the
localities were not at that time known to us ; they may now be found immediately by
reference to Captain Ross's Chart of the Tenasserim Archipelago.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
158 Miscellaneous. [Maci,
No. 14. Quartz and micaceous schist, from the S. side of a small island, in Lat
11* 47' N. It U covered with trees of a great variety of foliage, and producing bust
berries it attracts numberless pigeons of a beautiful cream colour, with wings and tails
tipped with black ; and from this circumstance it has been called Pigeon Island.
No. 15. Granite, from a small island on the south-eastern side of Sir Edward
Owen's Island, in 11° 11' N. This island, when I visited it, was covered with " Tu-
Nos. 16 and 17. Limestone and decomposing Granite, from two small islets
distant from each other $ a mile, in Lat. 11° 49* N.
No. 18. Micaceous schist, from rocks that cover and uncover with the tide,
near to the last.
No. 19. Micaceous schist, from a small island, in Lat. 11° 50' N. and has only one
or two fathoms on its summit, which gives it the appearance of a cap and feather.
No. 20. From an island in 11° 53' N. It is formed by two hills connected by a
narrow sandy ridge, so that, at a distance, it appears like two small islands. The
specimen is taken from the south-west point of the western hill, the summit of
which has an even and flatish appearance.
No. 21. Fine grained granite, from rocks on the western side of Christmas Is-
land, in 12* 0' N.
No. 22. Quartz, from a small island, in Lat. 12° 4' N. (Hospital Island.)
No. 23. Quartz, from the north-east point of an island to the westward of it
No. 24. Decomposed granite, from a small island, in Lat. 12° 9' N.
3. — Indian Arts and Manufactures.
Mode of dyeing Kharwa Cloth, practised in Bundelkhand. Translated from e
Persian account. By Babh Hari Mohun Sen.
To dye — say one bale of cloth, consisting of fifty-two pieces, the first step to be
taken is to wash them white in water. Thirteen seers of oil of castor, three seen
of impure soda (hhak-ij-zamln-shbr, efflorescence on saline earth), and fifteen seen
of clear water, must then be mixed together, and the cloths dipped and drenched
in the solution twice a day for four days continually. At the expiration of
that time, the same operation is to be renewed for a period of seven days,
soaking the same in the liquor, and reducing the operation to once a day. But
care should be taken to put into it a little saline earth every day during the
process. After this, the whole bale of cloths must be rewashed in clear witer,
and then steeped over again in another liquid composed of water and three seen
of Halelah {Terminalia Chebula), and afterwards dried. A similar cold solution of
water and three seers of alum is then to be prepared, in which the stuffs are agsia
to be steeped, and afterwards well dried. After all these operations are duly con-
ducted, a caldron or large vessel is to be filled with a sufficient quantity of water,
in which are to be mixed one maund and ten seers of Al (Morinda Tinctoria), s dye-
wood, and five seers of DhAwa (another wood) . The former should be well dis-
solved previously to the cloths being submitted to the process of dyeing. After
they have taken a deep dye in this liquor, they should be taken but of the vessel,
and then washed with soap and water. Then a solution of eight seers of gum
is to be made, and the stuffs immersed and washed in it for the last time. Iney
are afterwards to be folded piece by piece, and rubbed and scoured with a little gum
over their surface, and then beaten in order to make them smooth and compressed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 159
To dye cloth* of an Amua-sabz, or mangoe-green color.
Tbe cloths require first to be dyed in a solution of indigo ; the latter to be
used at the rate of two chitaks on an average per piece. Afterwards they must be
boiled in water with a mixture of rind of pomegranate in it. In this operation, half
a seer of the latter should be mixed for each piece. They are then to be steeped in a
strong solution of water and alum, which should he given in two chitaks on an
average. After this, a preparation of two chitaks of turmeric dissolved in water
should be made, and the stuffs kept dipped in the same for one whole night.
In the morning following, they must be washed in clear water, and lastly dyed with
the juice of Kusum flower, which when first extracted is naturally yellow, and
which is termed " Pm" in Hind6stanf. They are afterwards to be folded and
beaten smooth.
The dyeing of Surj Pakhi, a red yellow— the color of a bird to called.
A composition comprising ten seers of oil of castor, five seers of impure
soda, (hMk-i-zamin-i-thdr) one seer of goafs dung ; to be made, and to be all
dissolved in a sufficient quantity of water. Twenty pieces of stuff are then
to be washed in pure water, in a vessel all separately, and one by one, chang-
ing the water every time. This operation is to be kept in continuance for fifteen
days. They must afterwards be washed in clear water, and soaked in a solution
of alum and water. Twenty-five seers of powder of Al should then be dissolved
in a necessary quantity of water, in a large vessel, and the cloths steeped and co-
loured in the liquor. They are thus to be wrought up for the space of six days,
and finally dried and folded.
4. — Note on Lieut. Bur ft instrument for trisecting Angles.
On reading the papers on the trisection of angles, in the number for November
last, I observed some inaccuracies, which as they were overlooked in the last num-
ber, I now beg leave to bring to notice.
Mr. Burt, in proving the correctness of the instrument, has made the truth of
the demonstration depend on a position which is itself in want of proof. He says,
(page 500, 1. 8), " rad. &o-rad. ao," but they are not necessarily equal from the
construction, and it should therefore be proved that the locus of the point b is in
the arc abc. The demonstration is consequently faulty. I think however the in-
strument will effect the purpose intended ; and perhaps when I have more leisure,
I may attempt to prove its accuracy, if not anticipated by some one whose avoca-
tions are more in accordance with such pursuits. Mr. B. says that A B the fourth
leg of the instrument, may be dispensed with. I do not think it can, but I don't
understand this part of the paper, nor do I see how a line can be parallel to one or
two others, and also pass through the same point with them.
I have not tried to construct the instrument, but I should anticipate some difficulty
in applying it, as one may not readily know when the points A and O respectively
coincide with a and o.
1 am, Sir,
Your obdt. servt.
A. K.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1G0
Meteorological Register.
[Makch 1833.]
TO
TO
•SuraaA3
•nooN
•Sunuopi
to ■ *"* * 5 fl 4 E *
ooc o^"2 o o*2 c 00 © o 5.ooCooco^goooo 3 c
a* I 1 I * 1* I
.it t i *
5H & I o g o o oot |j e o o o 00 00 00 |oooox>^
lile 3 -cio *C xS
I1il4 o iiB||| o i cooo ri oo i ooo *°i
1
H
jo
•SUUWA'J
*nooM
'Smoiojv
K'VOUV
IE
» u5 x a5 * c/i x »S x x x * x * x x ri »8 />J./j:£ 4 c d * x* x* 4
C 4 4 4
3c d 4 4X »"6J«<J« .
;46c4 ^0^X4
; o . C4
. . , , ** * .
£ I!
' II
i =c
I .£>>
8 = c-
- =3:
§11
1 ||*
■ I -
£| a
sKi
gS«aMS§feS5S^§23SSS!xS§*^l^S^5?.5
I-* CJ1 ■* © ** <© (D X 0* •» X 'fl t^.iO *- <M *1 X ** « X SO — — i *5 *
~i^eo -f p ~ x « «5 t^» *o W 23 « •+ » S -- £ « ~- -" «5 ©" B =CcCxV»
■ ffil
Mi
i = ==
«*©0»C 06©X NNJl X_*r 3|«q<N X 3>«>X OB ■* X X *"**<£ P l°, 5 ^ r> * 9 l j * «^ •
5-
05
S
=
I
B
B
■
*mx- cox cirix-r »c*x naoMaoointvoio t* Ik) ^cs
sss&Se : =5&cfsB : &ssw : sso : asa^ |s g|§
» -•-
t*«w«cc «
mnutunK
•waiinv
^^Vc n '-Tx '"T o x *-" r* o ?5 «c r^ x •-: tCi-ipc x«t%" «J « r^x r* •js X » £
fcgB[ g ^:
P w ilPJJJ.sl|P;||SIls||Si8l|I|sll i I s| j
•w*v 01 IV
E6$isS|ll§SP.|S$|S113|^S$S|||i
'fill
« ; -
S • i ■
I ll
•tjiuom
£L
-^c^^x^xmo-^w^^x^xcjg-gjgjgijggjggjsj^
f
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JO URNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 16.— April, 1833.
L. — Account of the Jain Temples on Mount Abu in Gvzerdt. By Lieut*
Barnes, Bombay Army. ^ ft.f •
Tbx mountain oiAbU, Abuji, or Abughad, is situated near the 25th de-
gree of north latitude and 73° 20' of east longitude, in the district of
Sekntf and province of Mdrwdr, about 40 miles N. E. by E. of the
camp of Disa. The magnificent temples are erected at the small village
oiDilwarra, about the centre of the mountain, which has an elevation of
about 5000 feet, where the summit is extremely irregular and studded
with peaked hills. There are four in number, all of marble, and two of
them of the richest kind. They are dedicated to Parasn/th, or " the
principal of the deified saints, who according to their creed have suc-
cessively become superior gods," and who are believed to amount to
die number of twenty-four, or as some told me, to have appeared, like
the Hindu gods, in twenty-four different Avatdrs.
These are the gods of the Jain, Shrdwak, or Banian castes, who
are a gloomy tribe of atheistical ascetics, not unlike the Budhists,
" who deny the authority of God and a future state ; believe that as
the trees in an uninhabited forest spring up without cultivation, so
the universe is self-existent ; and that the world, in short, is produced,
as the spider produces his web, out of its own bowels ; and that, as
the banks of a river fall of themselves, there is no supreme destroyer."
" They also deny the divine authority of the Vtdas, and worship the
great Hindu gods as minor deities only :" but Mr. Colebrooke and other
eminent scholars have already given the most minute description of this
daas of people and their worship. The above abstract of their tenets will
at once show how little acceptable the followers of Parasnath can be
to orthodox Hindus ; and the costly materials of Jain temples are there-
fore attributable, not to the holiness of the gods to whom they are de-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
162 Account of the Jain Temples [Arm,
dicated, but to the riches that are to be so generally found among the
Banians their votaries.
Jain temples are to be met with in Guzerdt, Kattywdr, Cutck and
Parkur, as well as in other countries both in the southern and northern
parts of the Peninsula, but next to those on Ab&, the most celebrated
ones on the western side of India, are at Politana and Girnar in Kettif-
war, at both of which places also they have been built on the tops of
hills. The antiquity of the schism between this and the Hindu sect is
not accurately ascertained, but the oldest temple on AbH appears to have
been built An. Vicramajit 1016, (A. D. 960,) or something more than
eight hundred years ago.
The temple now alluded to is dedicated to Rikabdbo, (or as Mr.
Ward has it, " Rishubhu-dbvu,") the founder of the sect and first in
order of their deified saints, and is known by the name of A iiwmj i
deval. The four temples are built in the form of a cross, and this is the
most westerly. It is in the figure of an oblong square, forty four paces
long by twenty two wide (or perhaps 100 feet by 50) ; within the build-
ing, and in the centre of the area so inclosed, stands the pagoda, in which
the great image of the god is placed facing eastward. In front of this
there is an octagon of 24 feet, supporting, on pillars and arches of
marble, a cupola of the same. The pillars may be from 12 to 15 feet
high. The entrance to the temple is from a small door opposite this
cupola, and the grandeur of the building is discoverable at once on en-
tering it, and has a very imposing effect. On all sides of the area there
is a colonnade, the long sides having a double row of pillars supporting
small domes, within each of which are cells in the walls to the number
of 56, in all of which are marble images of the god. In the south west
corner, and in a chamber detached from the building, is a colossal figure
of Nb'minath cut in black stone.
The whole of the building is of the richest white marble, superbly
cut into numerous devices ; and it is worthy of remark that there is not
an inch of stone unornamented, and not two* domes of the same pattern,
though one hundred and thirty-three in number, and all are carved.
The grand dome is a most chaste piece of workmanship, and so light do
the pillars appear, that it could hardly be imagined they could support
the superincumbent weight.
Adjoining to this building is a room called " HdthisaT' or the elephant
hall, which seems once to have also had a roof of domes, and in whkh
are the figures of ten marble elephants with drivers, each about four
feet high, and caparisoned in the modern style of those of the Native
princes, with every rope, taasd and doth beautifully and correctly carved*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
2831] on AM in Guzerdt. 163
tnd apparently, the cars and riders excepted, from one block of marble.
The workmanship is exceedingly good, and the representation of the
animal is very superior to Indian sculpture in general.
The floor of this room is of black marble, while that of the temple is
of white. At the door there is a large equestrian statue of the founder,
who by an inscription, is described as " Bi malnath, a Banian of
Qminmli to whom the gods had been propitious." It is rudely
executed, and is evidently the workmanship of later days.
The whole of this temple is said to have occupied a period of four-
teen years in building, and to have cost eighteen crores of rupees, in
addition to fifty six lacs spent in levelling the side of the hill on which
it is built
Hie next temple to be described is the northern one, which is dedi-
cated to Nb'mina'th, the twenty-second deified saint of the Jains. It
ie with regard to design and material much the same 'as the one men-
tioned, but although of equal length it is ten paces wider, from which
addition the architect has been able to make the colonnade double on
all sides without contracting the area too much, and which has a good
effect. Hie pagoda of the god is in the centre, and faces the west. It
has also a cupola in front of it, the same as the other in Bize, though
far inferior in execution : but the greatest ornament in this temple, and
indeed on Abu, is a portico between this cupola and the pagoda. It
is supported by pillars, and the roof is formed by nine small domes most
exquisitely carved. The stones on both sides the entrance of the temple
are deeper cut than any marble I ever saw, and, if I mistake not, approach
in resemblance to Hogarth's line of beauty. This part of the building
is said to have cost eighteen lacs of rupees, and I can well credit the
people who gave me the information.
All round the temple and in front of the colonnade, small images of
the god are placed to the number of forty-six, in front of each of which
are two sculptured domes.
The east side of the building is not divided into compartments, but
consists of one long room in which are placed ten marble elephants,
which are more minutely carved than those described, the very twisting
of the ropes being represented. In rear of these are the images of the
different contributors to the '* holy undertaking," rudely cut out in stone,
*ad represented as holding purses full of money ready to be appropria-
ted. There are inscriptions under all these figures mentioning at
length the names of the different " pious individuals/' most of whom
appear to have been Banians.
y 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
164 Account of the Jain Temples [Ann;
In the south western corner of the building are two inscriptions cat
in marble and fixed into the wall, bnt they are in such a good state of
preservation that it becomes very questionable if they are of the same
age as the temples. They are in the Bdlbad character, and giving (as
I learnt from the people, there being no one who could read them with
me,) a genealogical account of the different founders and their relative*.
Above the niches containing the smaller images, there are also inscrip-
tions with the names of the builders in Guzerdti character. From aU
of these it appears that this temple was built, An. Vicr. 1293. or
A. D. 1286, nearly six hundred years since, by two brothers, Bast and
Fsst Pal, Banians also of the ruined city of Ckandouli, and one of
whom is said to have been Kamddr to the Delhi Emperor. The build-
ing is said to have cost twelve crores of Sonias, a coin equivalent to
ten rupees, in addition to the expense of the portico ; and although it is
superior to the other temple, this is undoubtedly an exaggeration.
The sculpture of the small domes in this pagoda, from being of a
higher order of architecture than the others, deberves remark. In se-
veral of them are representations of the gods, in particular a group of
the procession of Indba King of the Gods, who is believed to have de-
scended from heaven at the birth, marriage and installation of Ri-
kabdbo ; also another of Nemindth's marriage, both of which are pretty
well executed in marble. Nothing more attracted my notice, however,
than the group next to the one just described, it being a representation
of one of the Mahommedan emperors of Delhi. I observed also that
very common ornaments throughout the temple were small Mahomme-
dan tomb-stones.
Superstition has however pre-eminently shown itself in the portico.
While admiring its beauty I observed the capital of one of the pillars
to be of coarse unpolished black stone, which induced me to ask the
cause of such a disfiguration ; when the people informed me that it had
been done intentionally to keep off the evil eye, as in a place like this
where all was beauty, it would inevitably fall and become bewitched if
there were no foil. The floor of this temple is of mixed marble, being
both black and white ; and under the great dome there is a slab of yellow
marble, said to have been brought from Jesainur.
The two remaining temples are about 365 years old, and very inferior
both as to workmanship and materials when compared with the others.
Under the dome of the southern one, there is some attempt at mosaic
wprk, and the floor is inlaid with Ave different kinds of marble.
The whole of these temples are in a good state of preservation, not*
withstanding the attempts that have been made to destroy them. The
Digiti
zed by G00gle
M».] on Abu in Guserdt. 165:
kill, trunks, and riders of the elephants have been broken off, though •
since replaced ; and the dome of Adxsirji'-dbwal is cracked in one or
two places. The earthquake of 1819 is said to have had some effect
on these buildings, but although the Brahmans and Jains formerly car- «
ried on violent controversies, it does not appear that the former injured
the Jain temples. The natives themselves speak with horror of the*
oppression of a Mahommedan prince known to them by the name of
" Boon* Badshah," who is said to have ordered the temples in Abti,
to be levelled. Natives are at all times but bad chronologists, nor are
they in this instance able to give any distinct account either of the
time or of the individual whose name excites such irritating feelings.
It is on record however that a Sultan of Ahmeddbdd in Guzerdt, by
Mine Mdkmud Begra, sent a force to levy tribute on the Parsees, A. D.
1450, and from the similarity of names, and the connection that sub-
sisted between two such mercantile places as Ahmeddbdd and ChandouK,
it does not appear to me at all improbable that this is the individual*.
The band of time is now however fast injuring these buildings, and
throughout the marble gives signs of decay.
Without placing too much reliance on the inscriptions above alluded
to, there is a circumstance which goes far to fix the date of these
temples at a period when the Mahommedan power was great in India.
All the figures are throughout represented with beards, which we
know to be at variance with Hindu customs, and which is without doubt
attributable to the same cause that induces the Hindu subjects of a
Mahommedan government to follow the custom of their rulers, namely,
submission to the powers that be. In Sind, at the present time, such
is the custom of all Hindus, and it is perhaps owing to this that the
Moslem rulers ever spared the temple* of the submissive people they
conquered. It is to the same cause, I presume, that we have the re-
presentation of the emperor of Delhi, though from the founder being
hit " Kdmddr," it may be more easily accounted for.
With very few exceptions the people on Abu do not worship at the
temples of DUwdrra, and there are only one or two Gurjfo at the
place, who could give, from sheer ignorance, little or no information
concerning the surrounding scene of grandeur. They have, however,
I ihonld bare been more disposed to attribute the injury which the temples
of AH We received to Ma'hmu'd of Ghizni, who came by Ajmir into Guzer&t,
ia 1024, through Patau, and who waa so zealous in the destruction of Hindu
fad* sad temples, and baa been rendered famous by the demolition of the one at
****** fymm&tn in Kattywer ; but if the inscription be true the whole of these tern-
fk»» even the oldest of them, are of a posterior date to that conqueror's inroad.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
166 Account of the Jain Temples., [Amu
one good quality which out countrymen can well appreciate, a total
freedom from all prejudice, so that we entered the " sanctum sancto-
rum" of the inner temple without a murmur on their part, nor did they
object to our handling the gods themselves.
There were besides two inmates of the temples whom I must not
omit to mention. They were women who had taken a tow of chastity,
retired from the world, and dedicated themselves entirely to religion, or,
as they themselves say, had become " Sadu." One of them was young,
and had retired on the death of her husband. They spent their time
in reading their religious books, which they readily showed, and were
quite free from that prevailing reserve in Indian women, so much ft)
that they followed us through the " atria" of the temples, and were
ever ready to explain, as far as in their power, the different objects of
our curiosity.
. It was from them I learnt the names of the twenty-four deified saints
or gods of the Jains, which are as follows — 1 Rikabdeo, — 2 Ajilnath,—
3 Sambun&th, — 4 Abumandjf, — 5 Sumtanath, — 6 Padan Prabu,-- 7
SuparisnAth,— 8 Chanda Prabu,— 9 Subatanath.— 10 SftalnAth.— 11
Siansnath,— 12 Waspujf— 13 Bimaln&th,— 14 Anandnath,— 15 Dara-
nath,— 16 San tin 4th, —17 Kutonith,— -18 Aranath,— 19 Milidkth,— 20
Muni Subartji,— 21 Nawinath,— 22 Neminithji,— 23 Ptrisnithjf,— 24
Mahavaru, and it is not difficult to distinguish by the expressive affix
of " ji," even from among this long list, the favored or favorite gods
to whom the temples are dedicated.
. I also learned from these people, that there are large assemblages of
people on Abu at different but unfixed periods, and that they chiefly
come from Guzerit, Marw&r, Ajmere, Malwa and Bombay, all of which
except the latter are, in fact, the surrounding countries. The natives
of India are, as it is well known, fond of perching their temples on the
tops of hills and other remarkable places ; and it is no doubt owing, as
well to the isolated situation, as the great size of the mountain, that
such a position has been chosen. There is, however, no marble on Abu,
and certainly at present, no roads by which the enormous blocks of it
could have been brought up from the pits that are at the base of the
mountain, so that it is to be presumed they have been destroyed.
From some specimens in my possession, it would seem that the sum-
mit of Abu is granite ; but great part of the exposed rocks are in a state
of decomposition, and break off in flakes.
The vicinity oiAbd, though now without a large town, has been, as
is discoverable from ruins, and according to tradition, a well cultivated
and thickly peopled country.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JSM/J Catalogue of Indian Woods. 167
About nine antes from Girwar, a Tillage at the base of Abd, and half
that distance or less from the Bands river, are the ruins of a great and
ancient city called " ChandouU," said to have been eighteen miles in
circumference, and which is now without an inhabitant.
The natives have numerous fabulous accounts concerning the place,
and believe it to have been one of eighty-four towns or villages that
were destroyed by " a shower of stones" three hundred years ago; and
that a famine and scarcity of fuel ensuing, the people fled to Guserdt,
and settled at Ahmedtbdd. I myself had not an opportunity of visiting
the ruins of this city, but am informed that all its. buildings are thrown
down as if by an earthquake, the occurrence of which could, I have no
doubt, be accurately ascertained by inquiry on the spot. Its antiquity
may be readily discovered from the temples on AbH having been built
by the Banians of this once opulent city, as proved by the inscriptions
before alluded to, and great numbers of small marble images of Paras-
m'ath, the same as those on Abu, being constantly dug from among tho
ruins.
IL— Lint of Indian Woods collected by N. Wallich. M.D. F.R.8.,
Corresponding Member of the Royal Institute of France, and the Aca-
demy of Sciences at Berlin, £c. and of the Society of Arts of London j
Superintendent of the Botanic Garden at Calcutta.
[Reprinted from the Transactions of the Society of Arts, xlvili. 1831.]
Dr. Wallich was sent by the Governor-General of India on several
botanical missions, especially in 1820-1, to Nipal, a hilly country situ-
ated between the lower part of the valley of the Ganges and the Hima-
laya mountains, and to the Burmese territory in 1826-7. On each of
these expeditions he collected specimens of the native woods, which
were sent to England, and deposited at the India House. To these
were likewise added some that had been grown in the Botanic Garden
of Calcutta. On the arrival of Dr. Wallich himself in England, I had
the pleasure of forming a personal acquaintance with him, having before
occasionally corresponded with him respecting various Indian products
that at different times he had sent to the Society of Arts.
Under an apprehension that the arrangement and description of the
vast botanical collection brought over by him, would occupy the whole
of his granted time of absence from Calcutta, he suggested that his
collection of woods should be transferred to the Society of Arts for
arrangement and examination. This plan having been sanctioned by
the Court of Directors of the East India Company, between four and
Digiti
zed by G00gle
16S Catalogue of India* Wood*. [4*n&t
five hundred specimens were placed in our possession. Here they
were examined, and were cut up into three or four sets of specimens
more or less complete. Some of them were found to be wornv
eaten ; and several of those from Nipal being only portions of
small branches, are not in a state very favourable for shewing the
qualities of wood with reference to its value as timber. Their
native names, and the scientific ones of those that have any, as well as
the uses to which they are applied by the people of the countries where
they grow, were supplied by Dr. Wallich*, partly from his own observa-
tion, and partly from a catalogue of Burmese woods collected in 1827
by A. Maingy, Esq., and presented by him to Dr. Wallich. Some notices
have likewise been obtained from a catalogue of woods sent by Dr.
Francis Hamilton (late Buchanan), from Gualpara in Assam, on the.
Burrampooter, and which were put into the hands of Mr. James Kyd,
master builder to the Hon. East India Company at Calcutta, for exami-
nation. These notices are distinguished by the letters Ham., though
some of Dr. Wallich's are intermixed with them. The observations on
the structure of some of the woods from Nipal were made by myself,
and relate chiefly to the longitudinal fibre, to the medullary rays, to the
longitudinal tubes, and to the annual layers. For some practical
observations the Society is indebted to the carpenter employed in cut-
ting up the specimens.
A. Aikin, Sec.
CATALOGUE OF INDIAN WOODS.
1 Acacia mollis, fr. Nipal.
A lam tree: wood yellowish white, shining, coarse, rather soft.— Sp.f
2 inch. diam. Fibres and rays of the same colour, the latter very distinct :
tubes large.
2 Acacia fragrans, fir. Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. 2 inch. diam. Wood glossy, coarse : a bad specimen.
3 Acacia. Joolchumahl, N.J fr. Nipal.
Tree very large : wood excellent for chests and boxes.
4 Acacia. Popeeah, B.§ fr. Tavoy.
A very large tree : the wood used for posts, bows, and rollers lor ginminr
cotton. ° •
5 Acacia. Paingadoo, fr. Tavoy.
* It ha* been thought better to leave the spelling of the native names as in the ori-
ginal catalogue, since it is difficult to know in many cases how they ought to be ma-
ttered orthoepicalr?.— En. - -■
f Sp. the individual specimen examined.
t N. Newar, the language of the Hind6 conquerors of KipaL
f B. The Burmese language.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1SS3/J Catalogue of Indian Woods. 169
6 Acacia odoratissima. Jatikorai, fr. Goalpara.*
Tnmk very lofty, bat not straight ; often 6 feet In girth : wood hard, and
used in furniture. — Ham.
7 Acacia margmata. Komi, fir. Goalpara.
5 cubits in girth. Makes good planki. — Ham.
8 Acer lsevigatom. Soalendi, N. Cheroaoi, P.f fr. Nipal.
30 to 40 feet high : 3 to 4 inches in diameter ; of slow growth j used for
rafters, beams, and other building purposes. — Sp. 3 5 inches in diam. Wood
Taried brown and cream colour, with a wavy lustre.
9 Acer aterculiaceum, fr. Nipal.
A very large tree, 3 feet in diameter. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. Wood light :
fibre pale cream colour, with considerable lustre: rays in distinct brown
ribands : tubes large, giving a coarse appearance to the wood.
10 Acer oblongom, fr. Nipal.
A very large tree. Wood moderately hard and compact. — Sp. fibre cream
brown, with considerable lustre : rays in narrow ribands of a flesh colour :
tabes small.
11 Adaxnia cyanea. Bansook, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
Wood pale coloured, not used.
Aggur. See Aqoilaria.
HX.} *»I*Pter«»i»»-
12 Ahnaon, fr. Tavoy.
3 to 6 fathoms long ; 12 to 15 inches diameter. Yields good crooked
timber, the strongest and most durable of any in Tavoy ; used for anchors
to the largest boats.
Aleai. See Justicia.
13 Amos nepalenais, fr. Nipal.
Wood as firm as English birch, and of a deeper colour j vary hard, and
difficult to cut ; lustre considerable. — Sp. 5 inch, diam., 20 layers in 17 inch
(but in another specimen 5 layers in 1*8 inch). Heart pale brownish red :
fibre glossy : rays reddish brown, very distinct. Bark fibrous, rather thick,
composed of many thin laminae.
14 Alatonia (Echitea) scholaria. Chatiyan, fr. Goalpara.
A beautiful tree, often 3 cubits in girth, used for coarse furniture. — Ham,
15 Ahtoniaantidy8enterica(Nerramantidys.). Dudkhori, fr. Goalpara.
A Urge tree, often 3 cubits in circumference. Is considered a powerful
medicine. Beads are made of it, to be worn round the neck. — Ham.
Amari. See Goarea.
16 Anacardiom latifoliom. Bhela, fr. Goalpara.
Grows to a good size ; used for making chests and couches. — Ham.
17 Anacardiom ? Thobbamboo, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree, used in boat-building.
18 Andrachne trifoliate. Uriam, fr. Goalpara.
3 cubits in girth, used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
19 Andromeda ovalifolia. Angaree, F. ; Joggoochal, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Grows 1 or 2 feet in diameter : wood soft and spongy, used for fuel.— »
8p. wood moderately hard, compact, reddish brown, with some lustre. Bark
with layers of stringy fibres.
20 Andromeda formoaa. Sheaboge, N. fr. Nipal.
A tree of considerable sise. — Sp. 45 inch. diam. : wood pale brown, fine*
grained, moderately hard ; rays very distinct in the outer layers.
as yet in the Society's possession.
* The Goalpara apec i ss ensn ro not as yet in mo So
f Parbottea, the language of the natives of NipaL
Digiti
zed by G00gle
}70 0ata1<y*eof tndim Wto&. [ArfttLj
21 Andromeda cordata, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 4 b inch. diam. : wood brown, nearly dull j rays distinct : bark flaky,
not at all stringy.
22 Andromeda, fr. Nipal.
23 Andromeda, fr. Nipal.
Angaree. See Andromeda*
Anjoo. See Jasminum.
Annan-beng. See Fagnea.
Antheel. See Ludia.
24 Antidesma. Bprp-helock, fr. Gualpara.
Grows in the mountains j 6 feet in girth ; the wood Used for faraUure.—
Ham.
25 Aquilaria agallochum. Aggur and Langchi, fr. Gualpara.
Attains a great size in the low-lands of Assam, and on the lower hills of
Gualpara j but in these situations the wood is white, and in do estimation. In
the Garo mountains certain parts oif the heart of the wood become of a dark-
brown colour, and are strongly impregnated) with a highly scanted oil. When}
in this state it is usually called Eagle-wood. — flam.
26 Aralia digitata. Leesaong, N. fr. Nipal.
A rambling shrub.
27 Aralia nodosa, fr. Nipal.
Sp. small, imperfect, and worm-eaten.
28 Aralia, v. Panax, fr. Nipal.
Said to be excellent wood ; used for boxes and other articles. Sp. 4-$ jn^*,
diam. ; light-coloured, rather soft.
Aroo. See Prunus.
29 Artocarpus. Thounben or Thoun-pine, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree ; used in boat-building. It produces a sort of caout-choue,
with which the Burmese pay their boats.
3Q Artocarpus, fr. Tavoy.
A large tree.
81 Artocarpus. Pynyathe or Tanabeng, B. fr. Tavoy.
Wood not used.
82 Artocarpus Chama. Kangtali chama, fr. Gualpara.
The glory of the forests of Gorakpur, where it attains a rery great size a
used for canoes, for which it is well fitted, being both rery buoyant and du-
rable in the water. — Ham,
33 Bah-nah-thoa (probably the same as Laurus Panatha of this Cata-
logue), fr. Tavoy.
Timber 4 to 6 fathoms long ; 15 to 24 inches in diameter : used in boat and
house-building.
Bajarmandi. See Fagrasea.
Bakhalpani. See Fie us.
Bakuri. See Bauhinia.
Bambusa. Bamboo, fr. Pulo-Geun, in Martaban.
The largest and tallest sort known ; the stem 100 feet high, and attain in g at
the base a diameter of 11 inches, with sides 1 inch thick.
Banatha. See Laurus.
Bancha. See Ligustrum.
34 Bauhinia Tucra. Tukra, fr. Gualpara.
A close-grained, soft, tough wood, of a yellow colour. — Ham.
35 Bauhinia Bacuria. Bakuri, fr. Gualpara.
An open-grained, soft, tough wood i 3 cubits in girth : used for i
Ham.
Digitized by
Google
18SS.1 Catalogue of India* Woods. 171
36 Banhinia. Kofla, P. fr. Nipal.
The flower-bads are eaten in curries.
37 Banhinia, fr. Nipal.
A Urge tree.
3* Berberis pmnatifolia. Milkissee, N. ; Juinne-munda, P. ; fr. Nipal.
Rarely exceeding a foot in diameter. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. : wood strong, close,
compact, yellow.
39 Berberis asiatica. Matekissee, N. ; Chitra, P. ; fr. Nipal.
Wood small. — Sp. rays rather large, distinct ; layers 12 in 1*5 inch. : wood
tough, compact, greenish yellow.
Bhela. See Anacardium.
40 Betnla leptostachya, fr. Nipal.
Wood not to be distinguished from English birch. — Sp. 2*8 inch. diam. ;
3 layers ; rays in numerous, straight, narrow, parallel, ribands ; bark thin,
smooth, spotted like common alder.
41 Betnla cylindrostachya, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; wood shaky, of no value ; layers not distinct enough to
be co un te d ; fibre white, glossy \ rays dark nut-brown, in very distinct, nar-
row ribands ; bark thick, tubercular.
42 Betnla Bhojpattra, N. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 5*8 inch. diam. ; about 20 layers ; wood moderately hard and compact 3
cuticle used for writing on, and also for covering die inside of the tube of the
hookah and kalioun.
Bhaleo. See Rhus.
43 Bhtsa Maya. Moj, fr. Gualpara.
A close-grained hard wood. — HaOk
Bhoea. See Conyza.
Bhoelasi. See Salix.
Bhongyefta. SeeDecadia.
Bhosee. See Salix.
Bhojpattra. See Betula.
44 Bignonia Colais. Kolai Beng. Parijat, fr. Gualpara.
Often 5 cubits in girth J used only for fire-wood. — Ham.
45 Bignonia, fr. the higher parts of the Saluen river in Nipal. t
46 Bignonia. Thathee, B. fr. Tavoy.
A. very large tree.
47 Bignonia ? Thuggainee, B. fr. Tavoy,
A large tree, used in house-building.
48 Bignonia. Lainbha, B. fr. Tavoy.
A middle-sized tree.
49 Bignonia chelonoides, fr. Nipal.
A large tree.
Billae. See Ligustrom.
Bireesee. See Myrsine.
50 Birouni, P. Kuraani, N. fr. Nipal.
Stem 6 to 8 inches in diameter.
Bojhinsi. See Coriaria.
Bonjam. See Gardenia.
Bonkapash. See Hibiscus.
Boro-belock. See Antidesma.
Borogotadhara, See Guarea.
Boropatiya. See Elseocarpus.
Bofuniyapoma. See Guarea.
z 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
175 Catalog** of India* Woods. [Aruit,
51 Briedelia stipularis. Kohi, fr. Gualpara.
Grows to a large size ; wood dose, hard, tough ; used for chests, stools,
Ac. — Ham.
52 Briedelia? fr. Nipal.
Wood not very hard, hut fine-grained, and fit for ornamental cabinet-work.
Sp. 2*5 inch, diam. ; colour lighter than box ; no tubes nor rays visible.
53 Brucea napalensis, fr. Nipal.
Bukkiamela. See Rhus.
54 Buddleia paniculata. Narum-pattee, P. ; Sinna, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Sp. 1 '6 inch. diam. ; rays very indistinct; wood pale brown, dulL
Bukaena. See Melia.
Bulaima. See Symplocos.
Bunamb. See Sphserocaria.
Bnnaroo. See Quercus.
Bundbali. See Gardenia.
55 Butea frondosa. Polaah, fr. Gualpara.
Sometimes 6 feet in girth ; wood open, soft, and tough, but not strong ;
nsed in coarse furniture.— Horn.
56 Caesalpinia ? fr. Nipal.
$7 Caesalpinia Sappan. Sappan-wood.
A native both of the peninsula of India, of the Burmese country, and of
the Malayan Islands. A large and valuable tree ; the wood red ; used in dying.
58 Calophyllum. Thurappe, B. ; Choopee, N. ; fr. Martaban.
A large tree, used for masts and spars, and for pestles for oil presses.
59 Calophyllum. Turra-phee, B. fr. Tavoy.
Very different from the preceding; used for masts and spars.
60 Callicarpa arborea. Khoja, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; used for mortars, pestles, and common furniture. — Ham.
61 Calyptranthes. Jam, fr. Gualpara.
8 feet in girth ; made into planks, but not considered as of good quality — Ham.
62 Calyptranthes. Saljam, fr. Gualpara.
Seldom more than 3 cubits in girth. A close, hard, tough wood, used for
posts, beams, and planks.— Ham.
63 Camellia Kissi. Kissi, fr. Nipal.
Wood close-grained ; no sapwood.— Sp. 1*5 inch. diam. j wood pale brown ;
bark very thin.
64 Capparis, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2 inch. diam. ; wood white, moderately hard, dull.
65 Capparis, fr. Nipal.
66 Carapa. Taila-oon, B. fr. Tavoy.
Timber 13 to 15 cubits long, 15 to 18 inch. diam. ; used in house-building.
67 Careya. Kaza, B. fr. Martaban and Tavoy.
Timber of lsrge size \ used for posts and other common purposes.
68 Careya. Kombo, fr. Gualpara.
About 3 cubits in girth ; wood, close, hard, tough, and strong. Stocks of
matchlocks are made of it.— Ham.
69 Carpinus viminea. Chukisse, N. ; Konikath, B. ; fr. Nipal.
Wood esteemed by carpenters.— Sp. pale purplish, with little lustre, hard,
rather heavy ; tubes small.
70 Cassia Fistula. Sonalu, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; an open, hard, tough wood, used for ploughs.— Ham.
71 Cassia nodosa, fr. Bot. G*.
A very large tree.
* Bot O., the Company's Botanic Garden at Ca'cntta.
Digitized by
Google
U8&] dUologue of India* Woods. 17«
72 Cutanea tribuloides. Cotoor and Chisee; also Makoo Shingalr, N.
(Shingali, is the general name for oak and chestnut) Fr. Nipal.
Used for large mortars and pestles for grinding grain in ; becomes brown by
steeping in water ; wood hard and heavy.— Sp. rays like English oak ; that is,
every 5th or 6th much larger than the others. Another specimen, said to be
of the same species, wants the large rays.
73 Castanea martabanica. Nome and Zitha, B. fr. Tavoy.
74 Castanea. Golsinggur, fr. Gualpara.
Branched prickles on the cup of the fruit ; leaves entire; timber excellent,
dose, hard, and tough.— Ham.
75 Castanea. Nikari, fr. Gualpara.
Oak or chestnut ; cup covered with strong prickles ; leaves notched ; 5 cubits
in girth ; timber dose, hard, tough ; used for furniture and canoes.— Horn.
76 Castanea. Kangta Singgur, fr. Gualpara.
Not exceeding 3 feet in girth ; inferior in strength and toughness to the pre-
ceding. — Ham.
77 Cedrela hexandra. Toon-wood, fr. Nipal.
Sp. the wood has a great general resemblance to Lauras; the outer layers
have white glossy fibres, with very distinct brown rays ; the inner layers are
brownish red, harder and more compact ; bark with white fibres.
78 Cedrela Toona. Toon or Tungd ; Poroa ; Jeea ; fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth; a dose, hard, but rather brittle wood, of a brown red
colour ; very durable, and esteemed for furniture. It has an agreeable smell.
— Ham. The wood, under the name of Toon, is extensively used among the
Europeans in Portugal for chairs and other furniture.
79 Celastrus, fr. Nipal.
An enormous climber.— Sp. trunk deeply channelled externally ; wood light;
reddish brown ; tubes large and numerous ; rays deep and very distinct, but
of the same colour as the rest of the wood; bark, outer, orange yellow; inner,
deep brown.
80 Celastrus verticillata, fr. Nipal. '
A small tree.
81 Celastrus ? fr. Nipal.
Sp. 1*8 inch diam. ; wood rather soft, very fine-grained ; tubes and raya
Terr indistinct ; inner bark nearly black ; approaches in most of its characters
toTurpinia.
82 Celtis australis, fr. Bot. G.
83 Celtis. Khori, P. ; Koosikma, N. ; fr. Nipal.
84 Cerasus. Puddom. Nipal cherry, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3'5 inch. diam. 14 layers : rays reddish brown, distinct ; wood rather
soft, with some lustre.
85 Cerbera Manghas. Kullooa, B. fr. Tavoy.
From the fruit (probably the kernels) an oil is drawn with which the Bur-
mese anoint their hair. Wood not used.
Chacrosila. See Ekeocarpus.
Chalita. See DOlenia.
86 Chamserops Martiona, Wall. Nipal palm, fr. Nipal.
87 Champa, white, fr. Nipal.
Sp. part of a plank : a free- working wood, soft and light like deal : fibre
wavy, white, and very glossy : rays shallow and slender : layers very distinct,
32 in 4*5 inches. Compare Michelia.
Chahsee. See Michelia.
* Chasehoo. See Lauras.
Chatiyan. See Alstonia.
Cheriala. See Rhododendron*
Digitized by
Google
174 Catalogue of Indian Woods. [Antii.
Cherouni. See Acer.
Chickooni. See Eurya.
Chillounea. See Gordonia.
Chitra. See Berberis.
Choopee. See Calophyllum.
Choo-kha. See Pongamia.
Choo-mulloo. See Diospyros.
Choo-muna. See Xanthoxylon.
Choopee. See Calophyllum.
88 Choorosi, N. fr. Nipal.
A very fine sort Of Wood, said to come from the north. I only knew it
from having a walking-stick of it, which was presented to me by the Vice-
regent of Nipal.
Chose. See Rhus.
89 Chaulmoogra odorata, Roxb. fr. Bot G.
A very large tree.
90 Chotagotadhora, Bengal, fr. Gualpara.
Chukisse. See Carpinus.
Chusee. See £laeagnus.
81 Chrysophyllum acuminatum, Roxb. Pithogarkh, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth 5 wood white, tough, nsed in furniture. — Hem.
82 Chung, fr. Gualpara.
Perhaps a species of Chilmoria. It grows rery large, and affords a close
tough wood used in furniture. — Ham.
98 Cinchona gratissima, Wall. Tungnusi, N. and P. fr. Nipal.
A native also of the mountains in Bengal, where it is called Uaokuli : used
in Nipal for posts and rafters.— Sp. wood brown, light, coarse-grained : bark
with many compressed coarse fibres.
94 Clerodendron phlomoides. fr. Bot. G.
95 Coccoloba uvifera, fr. Bot. G.
96 Conyza candicans, Wall. Phusrae, P. ; Bhoea, N. ; fr. Nipal.
97 Cordia Myxa ? fr. Nipal.
A large tree.
98 Coriaria nepalensis. Bhojhinsi, N. fr. Nipal.
The fruit is eaten : trunk 4 or 5 inches in diam. Wood not used.
99 Cornus oblonga, Wall. Easee, N. and P. fr. Nipal.
A tree of middle size. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. Wood fine-grained, rather hard ;.
fibre white and shining : rap very numerous, reddish brown.
100 Cornus Capitata, Roxb. fr. Nipal.
Grows sometimes to a great size. Wood very hard.
101 Corylus ferox, Wall. fr. Nipal.
Grows at the top of Sheopore, one of the highest mountains in Nipal ;
flowers in September, and produces fruit in December : shell of the nut hard
and thick. A tree 20 feet high, 2 feet in girth 5 wood light, compact
102 Cotoneaster affinis, Lindl. fr. Nipal.
103 Cotoneaster obovata, Wall. fr. Nipal.
Catoor. See Castanea.
104 Cou-moo, fr. Tavoy.
Timber 5 to 10 fathoms long ; 20 to 30 inches in girth ; used in boat and
house-building ; not much inferior to Hopsea.
105 Crataegus arbutiflora. Rooes, N. fr. Nipal. t
A small tree, or rather shrub ; wood exceedingly strong : used for walling-
•ticks.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
)833.} Catalogue o/ Indian Woofa 175
106 Croton oblongifoliura, Roxb. Parokupi, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits id girth ; a clow-grained but rather brittle wood j used for coarao
furniture. — Ham.
107 Croton. Lalpatuja, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; a hard close-grained wood, used for small canoes*
Cusroo. See Quercus.
108 Cyathea sptnuloaa. Fern-tree, fr. Nipal.
109 Cynometra. Maingga, B. fr. Martaban.
A small tree.
Daine-oksi. See Dillenia.
lift Dalbergia Momsita, Ham. Momsita, fir. Gualpara.
Attains a considerable size : wood close, hard, and tough ; used In coarse
furniture. — Ham.
111 Dalbergia (Rangoon Sissoo), fr. Rangoon, Ham.
112 Dalbergia.fr. Nipal.
113 Daphne Gardneri, Wall. fir. Nipal.
Wood not used. Bark used for paper stuff. — Sp. 3*75 inch. diam. ; wood
light, soft, coarse, of a grey colour, with little lustre ; bark finely fibrous.
114 Daphne cannabina. Loureir, fr. Nipal.
A shrub, from 6 to 8 feet high ; grows on the most exposed parts of the
snowy mountains of Nipal. Paper made of the bark is strong, tough, not
liable to crack, nor to be eaten by the white ant or other insects.
115 Decadia spicata. Bongyera, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth. A close, hard, tough wood, used by carpenters.— Ham.
Deodae. See Ficus.
Dheyri. See Taxus.
Dhoree. See Goaltheria.
116 Dillenia. Zimboon, B. fr. Tavoy.
Timber 3 to 5 fathoms long, 8 to 10 inches diameter. Wood used in
house-building ; it also affords small crooked timbers for boats.
117 Dillenia pilosa, Roxb. Daine-oksi, fr. Gualpara.
Trunk 6 feet in girth. Wood open, but hard and tough ; used for canoes,
—Ham.
118 Dillenia Pentagyna. Oksi, fr. Gualpara.
Wood closer, but in other respects very like the preceding. — Ham.
119 Dillenia speciosa. Chalita, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth. Wood close and hard, but rather brittle^
120 Diospyros. Tendoo, N. fr. Nipal.
121 Diospyros? Ryamucha, B.; Choomulloo, T.; fr. tyartaban.
Wood used in house-building.
122 Dipterocarpus grandiflora. Wall. Ain or Aintha, B. fr. Martaban*
on the banks of the Atran ; also from Tavoy*
A stupendous tree : one of those which yield wood-oil and dammar.
123 Dipterocarpus. Kunnean-phew, B. fr. Tavoy.
5 to 8 fathoms long ; 18 to 24 inches in diameter; grows to a great size;
need for beams and planks.
Doduan. See Smilax.
124 Dubdubia. (See Rhus.) fr. Nipal.
Sp. 4*2 inch. diam. ; layer* 10 ; rays distinct ; tabes few, rather large*
Woo4 Tery white, light, and spft. Bark thin.
Dudjcuri. See ^Ustonia.
Eandorkomul-soong. See Gardenia.
Earansa. See Eurya.
Eaaee. See Cornus and Rubus.
Digitized by
Google
176 Catalogue of India* Woods. [Ann,,
Eea. See Loranthus.
125 Ehretia serrata, Roxb. Nalshima, N. fir. Nipal ; also fir. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; rires plank* from 12 to 18 inches wide ; wood soft sad
open-grained, but rather tough ; not durable ; used for posts and other com-
mon purposes.
126 Ehretia serrata, or macrophylla. Poegulsee, N. fir. Nipal.
Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers 10 ; tubes few and small ; rajs distinct ; wood
white, moderately shining, soft.
127 Ehretia lsevis. fr. Bot. G.
128 Ekebergia. Jiyakohi, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; wood like mahogany, very durable, and much esteemed.
129 Eteagnus, fr. Nipal.
Wood similar to, but whiter than, common hawthorn. — Sp. 4 inch. diam. ;
layers 27 in 17 inch : neither tubes nor rays risible in the cross section : bark
thin;
130 Ebeagnus. Chusee, N. fr. Nipal.
151 El&ocarpus. Boropatiya, fr. Gualpara.
A close hard wood, of good si«e, used for canoes. — Ham.
132 Elseocarpus Chacrosila, Ham. fr. Gualpara.
A close hard wood, used for mortars, chests, &c. — Ham.
133 Elsocarpus. Thaumagee, T. fr. Martaban.
Timber very large, used for masts and posts for houses.
134 Embelia, fr. Nipal.
Sp. very imperfect.
135 Eriobotyria elliptica. Mihul, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
Wood cinnamon-brown, hard, compact, and reckoned good. — Sp. 7 i
diam. ; rings indistinct, about 26 in 3*1 inches ; tubes very small.
Eeealoo. See Rubus.
136 Euonymus. Veysoor, N. ; Junghuree, P.; fr. Nipal.
Grows large ; wood close-grained, not very hard, perhaps good for <
— Sp. rays and tubes scarcely visible : outer bark yellowish gray.
137 Euonymus tingena. Kusoori, N. fr. Nipal.
Wood brown, compact, hard, very fine-grained, dull. — Sp. tubes not i
ble ; rays small and indistinct : bark, outer, orange yellow ; inner, brown
with fine white fibres : the yellow bark is used for painting the forehead.
138 Euonymus echinata, Wall. fr. Nipal.
139 Euonymus pendula (japonica, Thunb.), fr. Nipal.
Sp. wood brown, moderately hard, fine-grained dull ; tubes and rays as
E. tmgens : outer bark yellowish in places ; inner, brown.
140 Euonymus, fr. Nipal.
Tall, but of a slender stem.
141 Euphorbiacea. Yamala, B. fir. Tavoy.
Wood used for frames of lacquered ware.
142 Eurya nepalensis. Jeegnee, P.; Earansea, N. ; fr. Nipal.
A small tree. — Sp. 5 inch. diam.
143 Eurya variabilis (probably the same as the preceding). Chickomu,
B. and N. fr. Nipal.
Grows large; wood compact, fine-grained, cinnamon-brown; good sor
turnery ware. -
144 Eurya ? fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. : tubes small ; rays distinct, red brown ; fibre pals
brown, with moderate lustre ; wood reddish brown, fine-grained, moderately
hard.
145 Eurya. Thaun, B. fr. Tavoy.
A small tree, used only for fuel.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.} Catalogue of Indian Woods. 177
146 Excoecaria ? Thurrotha, B. fr. Tavoy.
147 Fagara floribunda, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2*2 inch. diam. : tubes many and large : wood coarse, and of remark-
ably open grain, but more compact near the axis ; colour brownish yellow,
nearly dull.
148 Fagara, fr. Nipal.
M9 Fagara Rhetza, Roxb* Bajarmondi, fr. Gualpara.
Wood close, hard, tough ; fit for the joiner. — Ham.
150 Fagnea fragrans, Roxb. Annah-beng, B. fr. Martaban.
Timber not large ; wood yellowish, compact, and beautiful, but very hard,
and on this account not much used by the Burmese.
151 Reus. Doodae-kath, N. P. fr. Nipal.
Ueed for water-courses, drains, and gutters. — Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; layers
£3 in 2 inches j wood soft, free-working, closer than deal ; lustre considerable,
satiny.
152 Ficus ? Kaffiraea, P. ; Pillaksi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Sp. 175 inch. diam. ; layers about 50 ; rays brown, indistinct : wood soft,
light, of no use.
153 Ficus, fr. Nipal.
Small specimen j rays distinct ; wood soft, light.
154 Ficus, fr. Nipal.
A climber.
155 Ficus, fr. Nipal.
A climber. — Sp. rays nut-brown, strongly marked ; wood light, not very
soft, pale brown, with some lustre.
156 Reus, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; rays brown, very distinct ; layers very many ; wood
moderately hard, with some lustre.
157 Ficus, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2*4 inch. diam. ; rays brown, strongly marked ; layers very indistinct ;
tabes large, giving the wood a coarse grain : wood reddish brown, rather
hard.
158 Ficus, fr. Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. 4*5 inch. diam. ; layers very numerous ; wood soft,
worm-eaten.
159 Ficus. Thubboo, B. fr. Tavoy.
A middle-sized tree ; wood used in house-carpentry.
160 Ficus. Thuppan, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree ; wood not used.
161 Reus undulata. Bakhalpani, fr. Gualpara.
6 cubits in girth ; makes good canoes : wood open, soft, rather tough.—
Hmm.
162 Reus oppositifolia. Khoskadumer, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; wood open, soft, brittle.
163 Fraxinus floribunda. Lakkuree, N. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 17 layers in 21 inches ; in colour, grain, and toughness, just like Eng-
lish ash.
164 Freriera ochnoides, fr. Nipal.
A middle-sized tree ; wood pale brown, close-grained, and moderately
hard. — Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. ; rays hardly distinguishable j resembles pear-
tree.
Gambhari. See Gmelina.
165 Garcinia. Pullowa, B. fr. Tavoy.
A larpe tree, used for posts, &c.
166 Garcinia paniculata, fr. Bot. G.
167 Gardenia florida. Eandorkomul-soang, N. fr. Nipal.
A A
Digitized by
Google
178 Catalogue of Indian Woods. [Ap*il,
168 Gardenia, fr. Nipal.
Sp. wood cream-brown, fine-grained, hard, compact ; probably useful for
turnery ware.
169 Gardenia. Bonjam, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in grirth ; well adapted for all kinds of turnery ware. — Ham,
170 Gardenia. Bundhali, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
171 Gardenia latifolia, fr. Bot. G.
172 Gardenia lucida, fr. Bot. G.
173 Gastonia palmata, fr. Nipal.
Ghese. See Quercus.
Ghonas. See Rhododendron.
Ghorans. See Rhododendron.
Gtflaephul. See Spondias.
174 Gmelina arbor ea. Gambhari, fr. Gualpara.
Wood light, but durable, does not warp, and is not readily attacked by
insects ; used for turnery ware of all kinds, and cylinders of a proper size arc
turned very thin for drums : other musical instruments are also made of it.
Goechaseee. See Gordonia.
Golsinggur. See Castanea.
Gomulsee. See Quercus.
Gooki. See Symplocos.
Goonsi. See Podocarpus.
Goopor. See Pyrus.
175 Gordonia integrifolia. Chillounea, P. ; Goechassee, N.; fr. Nipal.
The bark contains white spiculae, that produce violent itching when rubbed
on the skin in their recent state. The Burmese have a superstition, that one
beam in a house should be made of this wood. Wood brown, nearly dull
moderately hard and compact. '
176 Gordonia? Kaza, B. fr. Martaban.
Large timber, used for ordinary building purposes.
Govorpongyata. See Guarea.
177 Grewia. Meaya, B. fr. Tavoy.
.178 Gualtheria fragrantissima. Dhoree, N.; Dhoseongree, P.- fr
Nipal. *
179 Guarea, fr. Nipal.
, r>„ ^ Sp * 3 ' 5 inC ^ # diam * ; , wood mod crately hard, compact, pale reddish brown.
180 Guarea. A man, fr. Gualpara.
, o, r^ cubit L in 1 ff irtl1 i ™>d close, hard, and tough ; used for canoes.— Ham.
181 Guarea Gobara. Govorpongyata, fr. Gualpara.
Used for canoes. — Ham.
182 Guarea Alliaria. Bosuniyapoma, fr. Gualpara,
Used for canoes. — Ham.
183 Guarea Gotadhara. Borogotadara, fr. Gualpara.
5 feet in girth ; wood close and hard ; used by joiners.— Ham,
Guarnasi. See Rhus.
Hakoolual. See Limonia.
Harobaer. See Ziziphus.
184 Heritiera Fomes. Ham. (minor, Roxb.) Kunnazoo, B. fr. Tavov
boondree of Bengal. J *
lJrf7Sn!l?!i t T , 7 ? d exc ? din * hard and durable; used for pestles
for oil-mills ; shafts of gigs, spokes, and naves, are made of it • an exceW
Sitata3 gWdS,J ^-toamuchg^texsizeontheMa^^^
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Catalogue of Indian Woods. 179
185 Hibiscus macrophyllus, Roxb. fr. Tavoy.
A middle-sized tree, uaed for common building purposes, btrk tough and
stringy ; is made into cordage.
186 Hibiscus (perhaps a Sterculia), fr. Tavoy.
Applied to the same uses as the foregoing.
187 Hibiscus Lampas. Bonkapash, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; a soft, open wood, used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
188 Holboellia (Stauntonia) latifolia. Bagul, T. fr. Nipal.
A vast climber.
189 Hopea odorata. Tengaun or Thaengong. Common on the Ten-
asserim and Martaban coasts.
Canoes are made of this tree, which grows to an enormous size : it also
produces a valuable resin or dammar.
190 Hopea floribunda, Wall. Tantheya, fr. Tavoy.
A yery large tree.
191 Hovenia dulcis, fr. Nipal.
A rery large tree. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers 9 ; wood light, coarse-grained.
192 Hydrangea altissima, fr. Nipal.
A climber.
193 Hydrangea trigyna, Wall. fr. Nipal.
194 Hymenodictyon flaccidum, Roxb. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 1*125 inch- diam. ; wood dirty grey, nearly dull; moderately hard.
195 Ilex dipyrena, Wall. Karaput, P. ; Munasi and Gulsima, N. ; fr.
Nipal.
Wood heary, hard, fine-grained, and much like common holly, said to be-
come black with age \ used for various purposes of carpentry. — Sp. 3 inch,
diam. ; tubes vary small ; rays distinct.
196 Jambolifera pedunculata. Hulhholi, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used for stocks of matchlocks. — Ham.
197 Jasminum arboreum. Anjoo, N. from Nipal.
Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; wood pale brown, nearly dull, fine-grained, hard, com-
pact.
198 Jasminum dispermum, fr. Nipal.
199 Jasminum cbrysanthum. Roxb. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 18 inch, diam.; neither tubes nor rays visible ; wood white, fine*
grained, moderately hard ; brittle, hard concretions in the bark.
Jeea. See Cedrela.
Jeegue. See Eurya.
Jhoori. See Osyris.
Jiyakoki. See Ekebergia.
Joolchumahl. See Acacia.
200 Joolshima, N. fr. Nipal.
Juggoocbal. See Andromeda.
201 Juglans pterococca, Roxb. from Nipal.
An exceeding large tree. — Sp. 3'5 inch. diam. ; wood pale reddish brown,
with considerable lustre, but rather coarse-grained.
Julsi. See Rondeletia.
Jumnemandoo. See Berberis.
Junghurree. See Euonymus.
202 Juniperus excelsa, Bieb ? The Cedar of Himalaya.
Harder and less odorant than the West Indian cedar ; an excellent light
wood.
203 Justicia Adhatoda. Kath, P. ; Ale si, N. ; fr. Nipal.
A a 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
180 Catalogue of Indian Woods. [April,
204 Kaantha, B. fr. Tavoy.
3 to 5 fathoms long, 12 to 15 inches in diameter. Yields a small but va-
luable timber for oars and paddles,
Kadabusi. See Ziziphus.
Kaffraea. See Ficus.
Kaintha-phogee. See Symplocos.
Kaizai. See Laurus.
205 Kalajiya, fr. Gualpara.
Common over all India ; remarkable for the facility with which it grows
from cuttings, and from truncheons j yields much gum ; wood of no use. —
Ham.
Kalikat. See Limonia.
Kalikath. See Symplocos.
Kalikaut. See Myrsine.
Kanaput. See Ilex.
Kangtali-chama. See Artocarpus.
Kangta-singgur. See Castanea.
Kath. See Justicia.
206 Kaunzo-Kurro, B. fr. Tavoy.
5 to 7 fath. long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. ; used in boat-building. See aU*
Meliacea.
Kayzai. See Lauras.
Kaza. See Careya and Gordonia.
207 Keahnaun, B. fr. Tavoy.
15 to 20 feet long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. ; strong crooked timber, used for
musket-stocks. See alto Xylocarpus.
Keannan. See Xylocarpus.
Kee-tha. See Syndesmis.
Keounlak. See Rottlera.
Keysoor. See Euonymus.
Kheemna. See Lauras.
208 Kheera, N. fr. Nipal.
An Euphorbiaceous tree, of no value.
Khori. See Celtis.
Khoskadumor. See Ficus.
Koila. See Bauhinia.
Kohi. See Briedelia.
Kolai. See Bignonia.
Kombo. See Careya.
Komkath. See Carpinus.
Kongeea. See Rondeletia.
Komi. See Acacia.
Kooathoe. See Myristica.
Koosikma. See Celtis.
209 Kuddoot- Alain, B. fr. Tavoy.
Grows to a great size ; used by house and boat-builders.
210 Kuddoot^nee, B. fr. Tavoy.
6 to 8 fath. long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. ; an inferior wood, used in boat-
building. ^^
Kuenmoonee. See Lagerstroemia.
211 Kujulsee, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
Trunk 2 feet in diam. ; wood strong and durable 5 used for door-posts.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Catalogue of India* Woods. 181
Kullooa. See Cerbera.
Kullowa. See Laarus.
212 Kummi, B. fr. Tavoy.
Kunna. See Pierardia.
Kunnazoo. See Heritiera.
Kunnean-pbew. See Dipterocarpus.
Konneen. See Myristica.
Kunneen-keunke. 1 c e m .j,™.
■» 11/ See bymplocos.
Konneen -keunla. J J r
Kunneenee. See Sterculia.
Kurauni. See Birouni.
Kurrowa. See Lauras.
Kusoori. See Euonymus.
Kuzzo. See Pierardia.
Kyakle. See Quercus.
Kyamucha. See Diospyros.
Labtesee. See Panax and Rottlera.
213 Lagerstroemia. Kuenmounee or Peema, B. fr. Tavoy.
Used in home-building, and for oars.
214 Lagerstroemia parviflora, Roxb. Sida, fr. Gualpara.
A large tree, 6 feet in girth, and very common ; wood close, bard, and
tough, forming excellent timber. — Ham.
215 Lagerstroemia Reginae. Jarul, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth, used in boat-building j but the wood is soft, and deficient
in toughness. — Ham. It is extensively used in Bengal under the name of
JaruL— WaXL
Lakburree. See Fraxinus.
Lalpatnja. See Croton.
Lambba. See Bignonia.
Langcbi. See Aquilaria.
Latasisbnoo. See Urtica.
216 Laurina. Tapabaw, N. fr. Nipal.
217 Lauras. Lumpatcb, P. ; Chasepoo, N. ; fr. Nipal.
4 to 6 feet in diam. ; wood soft and pale when young, hard and pale red
when older ; used in carpenter's work, and for beams. — Sp. 27 layers in 1*8
inches ; lustre considerable ; rays mostly distinct.
218 Lauras glandulifera. Sassafras and Camphor- wood of Nipal, fr.
Nipal.
Sp. fibre pale flesh colour, with considerable lustre ; rays small, dark red-
brown ; wood soft, coarse.
219 Lauras. Very like the preceding. Kullowa or Kurrowa, B. fr.
Tavoy.
Produces the sassafras-bark and camphor-wood of Martaban.
220 Lauras caudata, fr. Nipal.
Sp. fibre light-coloured, shining ; tubes not numerous but large ; rays dis-
tinct, dark brown ; 4*2 inch. diam. ; layers 12 ; axis very eccentric.
221 Lauras albiflora, fr. Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. 3*8 inch. diam. ; fibre, tubes, and rays, as the fore-
foing.
222 Lauras. Panatha (Banatba ?), B. fr. Tavoy.
Used to bouse carpentry.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
132 Catalogue of Indian Woods. [April,
223 Laurus. Maythen, B. fr. Tavoy.
5 to 6 fath. long, 18 to 26 inch. diam. ; a very large tree ; wood used for
furniture, in house carpentry, and for planki and upper decks for proas.
224 Laurus. Pahela, N. fr. Nipal.
225 Laurus ? Kheemna, B. fr. Tavoy.
Timber small ; used for posts and rafters.
226 Laurus. fhetpetta, N. ; Balukshee, P. ; fr. Nipal.
Wood red-brown, of a fine grain, used for chests, &c— Sp. fibre and rays
as other Lauri ; tubes filled with a dark red-brown substance.
227 Laurus. Chausoma, N. fr. Nipal.
Sp. fibre light-coloured, with considerable lustre ; tubes rather large ; rays
distinct, dark-brown. .
228 Laurus. Sami-lumpata, P. ; Chikihul-tussipoo, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Sp. fibre cream-colour, shining ; tubes and rays cinnamon-brown 5 rather
229 Laurus. Keebula, N. ; Kalechampoo, P.; fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3*2 inch. diam. ; fibre, tubes, and rays, as other Lauri.
230 Laurus. Pumlasi, N. ; Khorkula, P.; fr. Nipal.
A large tree ; wood strong and durable.— -Sp. 16 inch. diam.
231 Laurus. Khulsi, N. fr. Nipal.
232 Laurus (or Tetranthera), very like T. pulcherrima. Bulooksee,
N. ; Sengoulee and Tijpaut, P. ; fr. Nipal.
Wood excellent, used for spinning wheels.— Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; fibre,
tubes, and rays, as other Lauri.
233 Laurus. Phusree, N. and P. fr. Nipal.
Wood grayish brown.
234 Laurus lanuginosa, Wall. fr. Nipal.
Sp. wood cream-brown ; moderately hard ; rays, tubes, and fibre, as
others.
235 Laurus. Thuggoo, B. fr. Tavoy.
4 to 6 fath. long, 12 to 18 inch. diam. ; used for oars and rudders.
236 Laurus, (Tetranthera bifaria, Wall.) Juttrunga, N. ; Pahelakath,
P.;fr. Nipal.
Large and useful timber ; wood soft, rather spongy.— Sp. 6 inch. diam. ;
rotten at heart ; fibre pale yellow, glossy ; rays distinct, dirty brown.
237 Laurus ? Thitya, B. fr. Tavoy.
A very large tree 5 wood used for house-building, and for mortars in which
rice is husked.
238 Laurus. Kayzai, B. fr. Tavoy.
Wood used in house carpentry.
239 Laurus salicifolia. Horisongher, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; wood has a strong smell of camphor j used for coarse
articles of furnitnre. — Ham.
240 Laurus Champa. Kurka-champa, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture.— Ham.
241 Leucosceptrum, fr. Nipal.
Wood used for rafters ; soft and of no value. — Sp. fibre with some lustre)
rays moderately distinct ; axis very eccentric.
242 Leycesteria formosa, Wall. fr. Nipal.
243 Ligustrum napalense. Billae or Bancha, N. and P. fr. Nipal.
Timber about a foot or more in diameter ; used for building purposes. —
Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; layers about 10 in an inch : wood heavy, hard, compact,
tough, and very fine-grained j for the purposes of the engraver will probably
be found nearly as good as Mediterranean box ; bark with coarse white
fibres.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
VclE.H.n..
S
fc
&
<5
*
&»
1/
^gjBOBil
ifafr tf*mr*mlmtt «t» foU *md SiUnr barf
JF-4
oogle J
Digitized by
Google
1 833 .] Catalogue of Indian Woods. 1 88
244 Limonia. Kailkat, P.; Hakoolnal, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Timber large for the genus ; wood white, soft, but dose, strong, and
tough ; fit for fine turnery ware. — Sp. 7 inch. diam. ; neither rays nor tubes
visible ; inner bark very fibrous.
245 Limonia crenulata, fr. Nipal.
Wood yellow, very hard ; used in house-building.
Lissokatta. See Loranthus.
LoUi. See Taxus.
246 Loranthus. £ea, N. ; Lissokatta, P. ; fr. Nipal.
Loehima. See Viburnum.
247 Ludia. Mulloka, N. ; Antheel ; fr, Nipal.
Used for posts and walking-sticks.
248 Ludia spinosa, fr. Bot G.
Lumpatch. See Laurus.
Lushpoo. See Sphaerocaria.
Luzun. See Pongamia.
249 Magnolia insignis, Wall. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; 12 layers ; wood rather soft, moderately fine-grained,
and with some lustre.
250 Mainaban, B. fr. Tavoy.
Resembles lance-wood ; used for beams, posts, and rafters ; also for lances,
bows, sword-handles, &c.
Maingga. See Cynometra.
Magor. See Vernonia.
Mako-shingali. See Castanea.
Makusal. See Gordonia.
251 Malpighia lucida, fr. Bot. G. A native of America.
Masoochi. See Laurus.
252 May-chin-chan-jay. Probably a species of Ebenus.
253 May-klen, fr. Tavoy.
Scarce and dear ; used for rudders and anchors.
254 May-maka, fr.
Used for timbers of junks.
255 May-rang, fr. Tavoy.
Said to be very durable, and much esteemed for the posts of houses built
on the bank of rivers.
256 May-tobek, fr. Tavoy.
Imported in long planks, and used in preference to teak for the bottom
planks of ships.
Mathen. See Laurus.
Meaya. See Grewia.
257 Meenaban, fr. Martaban.
5 to 8 cubits long, 6 to 10 inch. diam. ; a durable and pliant wood, used
for sword-handles and spear-shafts.
258 Megeongee, fr. Tavoy.
A very large tree, used in house-building.
Mehul. See Pyrus.
259 Melia. Bukaena, P. ; Baksi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
260 Meliacea ? Kanzo-Kurroo, B. fr. Nipal.
261 Meliacea. Tokor, fr. Gualpara.
A large tree, used for planks, canoes, and coarse furniture.— JTom.
262 Menispermum laurifolium, Roxb. fr. Nipal.
A large tree, very remarkable for the grain and irregular layers of its wood.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
IS4 Catalogue of Indian Wood*. [April,
Mhasoosee. See Spondias.
263 Michelia Kisopa, De Cand. Champ or Chaump, P. ; Cnobsse.
N.
The wood much uted for light works.— Sp. piece of a plank, 30 layer,
in 375 inches ; another Sp. 25 inch. diam. 12 layers in 11 inch. Similar to
white Champa, No. 87, but the colour is more yellow, and the rays less dis-
tinct.
Mihul. See Eriobotrya.
Mikay- See Murraya.
Milkissee. See Berberis.
264 Millingtonia pungens, fr. Nipal.
A middle-sized tree.
265 Mimosa capensis, Bot. G.
266 Mimosa odoratissima, Bot. G.
267 Mimosa polystachya, Bot. G.
268 Minusops. Thubbae, B. fr. Tavoy.
Wood used for masts and spars ; affords also good crooked wood.
269 Minusops Elengi, fr. Tavoy.
Slow-growing ; reared only on account of its flowers, which smell like
Russia leather.
270 Mimusops ? Chalpata, fr. Gualpara.
A tree of moderate size, used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
Moj. See Bheze.
Momsita. See Dalbergia.
271 Morinda citrifolia, Bot. G.
The root yields a yellow dye.
272 Moms laevigata, Wall. fr. Nipal.
A large tree.— Sp. 1*5 inch, diam. ; wood coarse brownish yellow, with
considerable lustre.
273 Morus mauritiana, fr. Bot. G,
Motikissee. See Berberis.
Moyen. See Vauqueria.
274 J4 ucuna » **• Nipal.
A superb climber (a kind of cowhage).
Mullokath. See Ludia.
Munasi. See Ilex.
Munachoo. See Rottlera.
275 Murraya. Maikay, B. fr. Tavoy.
4 to 5 feet long, 3 to 6 inch. diam. ; used for handles of daggers and
of other weapons. A strong, tough wood, in grain like box.
276 Myginda. Silapoma, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
277 Myrica sapida, Wall. ; Kaephul, P. ; Kobusi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Grain like birch, but the colour darker. — Sp. 2'5 inch. diam. ; fibre brown-
ish white, nearly dull ; rays very distinct, dark brown in the outer layers ;
the interior layers harder, heavier, and more compact. The fruit is eaten.
278 Myristica ? Thounsanga, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree ; the wood used in boat-building.
279 Myristica. Koatboe or Kunneen, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree ; the wood used for flooring houses : perhaps the same as the
foregoing.
280 Myristica. Jberuya, fr. Gualpara.
A sort of nutmeg, but neither the nnt nor mace have any aroma : Umber
5 cubits in girth, used for furniture. — Ham,
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Catalogue of Indian Wood*. 185
281 Myrsine capitellata, fr. Nipal.
Wood compact, hard, with a handsome grain. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; fibre
cream-colour ; rays very distinct, broad, heavy, pale brown.
282 Myrsine semiserrata. Bireesee and Kalikaut, N. and P. fr.
Nipal.
Wood excellent. — Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. j rays large, deep flesh -colour, and
rery ornamental.
283 Nauclea Cadamba, Roxb. Kodom, fr. Gualpara.
A noble tree, 6 feet in girth ; wood yellow, used for coarse furniture. —
Ham.
284 Nauclea undulata, fr. Bot. G.
Nalshima. See Ehretia.
285 Nerium tomentosum. Adhkuri, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used for furniture. — Ham.
286 Nerium antidysentericum. Dudkhuri, fr. Gualpara.
Of the same size and uses as the foregoing : beads are also made of it.—
Ham.
287 Nikari, fr. Gualpara.
An oak or chesnut ; cup covered with large prickles ; leaves notched j 5
cubits in girth ; used for canoes and furniture. — Ham.
Niyor. See Schinus,
Nome. See Castanea.
Novum-pattee. See Baddleia.
Odla. See Sterculia.
OkchL See Dillenia.
288 Olea glandulifera, fr. Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. 5 inch. diam. ; rays rery thin and indistinct ; wood
pale brown, very hard, heavy, and compact.
289 Oleina, fr. Nipal. *
A middle-sized tree. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; wood pale brown, with consider-
able lustre, handsome grain, and very hard.
Oosihu. See Podalyria.
290 Ormosia glauca.
Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; wood light brownish yellow, with some lustre, hard,
and coarse-grained.
291 Osyris napalensis. Ihoori, P. andN. fr. Nipal.
A large timber tree, the fruit of which is eaten, and the wood is in estima-
tion. — Sp. 1*5 inch. diam. ; tubes very small ; wood red-brown, rather hard,
compact, and very fine-grained.
292 Osyris peltata. Phaoun, B. fr. Tavoy.
Pahela. See Lauras.
Paingodoo. See Acacia.
Palash. See Butea.
Paluepean. See Sapota.
Panatha. See Lauras.
293 Panax polyacanthus, fr. Nipal.
A large tree.
294 Panax. Lubtesee, N. fr. Nipal.
Sp. about 2*5 inch. diam. ; wood soft, light, spongy, with high lustre ;
bark with short thick tubercles or spines, broad at the base.
295 Panax ? fr. Nipal.
Sp. 4 inch. diam. ; wood soft, light, spongy, nearly dull j rays numerous,
and very distinct in the outer layers.
296 Panax, fr. Nipal.
B B
Digiti
zed by G00gle
186 . Catalogue of Indian Woods. [April,
297 Panax pendulus, fr. Nipal.
A middle-sized tree ; wood pale reddish brown, light, moderately hard ;
rays distinct, giving a handsome grain.
Pangeh-petiya. See Tetranthera.
Panmuja. See Tetranthera.
Parijat. See Bignonia.
Paro-kupi. See Croton.
Passy. See Pyrus.
Paunlah. See Symplocos.
Peema. See Lagerstroemia.
298 Penlay-peen, fr. Tavoy.
5 to 6 fathoms long ; 8 to 15 inches diameter ; used in house-building.
Phaoun. See Osyris.
299 Photinia dubia, LindL fr. Nipal.
Grows about 20 feet high ; wood hard, fine-grained.
300 Photinia integrifolia, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2*1 inch, diara. : works freely ; somewhat coarse ; colour reddish brown,
with scarcely any lustre.
Phrarat. See Quercus.
Phurasee. See Turpinia.
Phusrae. See Conyza.
Phutki. See Eurya.
301 Phyllanthus Emblica, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers about 8, very indistinct ; rays distinct : a hand-
some, nut-brown, glossy, hard wood.
302 Phyllanthus ? Horinhara, fr. Gualpara.
A tree of moderate size ; the wood used for coarse furniture. — Horn*
303 Pienmahne, fr. Tavoy.
4 to 6 fathoms long ; 18 to 20 inches diameter ; affords the beat and
strongest crooked timber, and is very durable ; used also in house-build-
ing.
304 Pienmah-pue, fr. Tavoy.
See Lagerstroemia.
305 Pierardia ? Kunna or Kuzzo, B. fr. Tavoy.
Pillaksi. See Ficus.
306 Pinus excelsa, fr. Nipal.
Wood remarkably compact.— Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; 6 layers.
307 Pinus longifolia, fr. Nipal.
Excellent timber, like Memel deal.
308 Pinus Brunoniana, fr. Nipal.
Wood soft, and of no value. ,
309 Pinus Webbiana, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 7 inch. diam. ; exterior layers soft, and of no value ; interior ones
harder and finer-grained.
310 Pinus Dammara ? fr. Tavoy.
A very large tree ; used for beams and rafters.
311 Pinus Deodara. Himalaya Cedar, fr. Nipal.
Wood very fragrant.
Pithogarkh. See Chrysophyllum.
312 Plumeria alba, fr. Bot. G.
A West Indian tree.
313 Plumeria acuminata, fr. Bot. G.
A West Indian tree. Every part, both of this and of the foregoing, rail
of milky juice.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JS33.] Catmlogwe of Indian Woods. 187 .
314 Podalyria napalensis. Potugalla, N. ; Oosihu, P. ; fr. Nipal.
315 Podocarpus macrophylla. Goonsi, N. fr. Nipal.
The peduncle of the fruit, but not the fruit itself, is eaten.
316 Polygonum. Tuknee, P. ; Tauntul, N. : fr. Nipal.
Used only for fire-wood. The young shoots hare a pleasant acidulous
taste, and are eaten.
317 Polypodium giganteum. A tree-fern, fr. Nipal.
A stem, 45 feet in height, and proportionately thick, was presented by the
Directors of the East India Company to the British Museum.
Poma. See Cedrela.
318 Pongamia atropurpurea, Wall. Lazun, B. ; Choo-kha, T. : fr.
Martaban.
A noble forest-tree ; native of environs of Amherst and Moulmein, on the
Martaban coast : the wood used in boat and house building ; flower of a dark
purple colour.
Popeeah. See Acacia.
Potugalla. See Podalyria.
319 Premna spinosa, fr. Bot. G.
320 Premna. Toomulse, N. fr. Nipal.
321 Premna hirsina. Chikagambhari, fr. Gualpara.
Is often found 6 feet in girth ; the wood has a strong odour like the musk
rat ; it is used for making musical instruments, and for other uses. It is
said that no insect will eat it. — Ham.
322 Premna flavescens. Bukdholi, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; wood very inferior to the foregoing. — Ham.
Pregul&ee. See Ehretia.
323 Pnmus glaacifolia. Ranipeeplee, N. fr. Nipal.
A large tree.
324 Pnmus adenophylla. Aroo, P. fr. Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. 2*5 inch, diara. ; fibre white and glossy ; rays brown,
distinct ; tubes rather small ; wood light and soft, but harder and reddish
brown near the centre.
325 Prunus ferruginea, fr. Nipal.
326 Psychotria rotata, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; axis very eccentric ; wood pale reddish brown, dull,
fine-grained, moderately hard.
327 Pterocarpua ? Puddow, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree ; wood used for furniture and musical instruments.
328 Pterocarpus ? Thoun-kheea, B. fr. the river Attran, in Martaban.
Puddow. See Pterocarpus.
Pollowa. See Garcinia.
Pozzeen-zwa. See Ternstroemia.
Pynathe. See Artocarpus.
329 Pjrrus indica, Roxb. ? Mehul, P. ; Passi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. wood brown, compact, moderately hard, very fine-
grained ; tubes exceedingly small ; bark very thin, composed of 9 brown
layers alternating with as many white ones ; the thickness of the whole,
scarcely | of an inch.
330 Pyrus vestita. Goohor, N. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3*6 inch. diam. ; about 20 layers ; wood soft, compact, of a pale colour,
nearly dull.
331 Pyrus foliolosa, fr. Nipal.
A climber. — Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. ; wood pale brown, fine-grained, nearly
dull, moderately hard.
b b 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
189 Catalogue of Indian Woods. [Ami*
332 Pyrua ursina, fr. Nipal.
333 Quercus spicata, fr. Nipal.
A very large tree ; wood very like English oak ; every 7th or 8th ray mucb
thicker than the others.
334 Quercus semecarpifolia. Ghese and Cusroo, N. fr. Nipal.
A very large tree, from 14 to 18 feet in girth, at 5 feet above the ground j
clear trunk from 86 to 100 feet.— Sp. 3*5 layers in 24 inches; wood light
pale brown ; rays small, uniform.
335 Quercus lamellosa. Shulshee and Phrarat, N. fr. Nipal.
Wood very hard, straight-grained, and good, of a pale brown colour ; rays-
uniform.
336 Quercus. Bunaroo, P. , Gomulsee, N. fr. Nipal.
Wood soft, works as easily as deal ; fibre grey, with considerable lustre ;
rays uniform, reddish brown, very distinct ; layers indistinct ; heart reddi&hv
brown.
337 Quercus lanata, fr. Nipal.
A very large tree. — Sp. bad.
338 Quercus lamellata, fr. Nipal.
339 Quercus polyantha, Lindl. Soosi-Singhali, N. fr. Nipal.
340 Quercus. Tima, fr. Gualpara.
Leaves entire ; acorns covered entirely by an unarmed cup formed of con-
centric rings ; timber not more than 3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furni-
ture. — Ham.
341 Quercus Amherstiana, Wall. Tirbbae r B. ; Ryakle, T. ; f*„
Martaban.
Grows to a large size ; wood used in boat-building, &c.
342 Quercus, from the mountains called Taong-Dong, near Ava.
Ranipeeplee. See Prunus.
343 Rhamnea, fr. Nipal.
A large climber.— Sp. 18 inch. diam. ; heart moderately compact; outer
part coarse-grained, rather hard.
344 Rhamnea. Bungla, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; used for chests, stools, and other coarse furniture.
345 Rhamnus (Premna ?) Gondsori, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes and chests.
346 Rhamnus virgatus, fr. Nipal.
Wood very hard and heavy ; the heart a bright-red brown, not unlike
English yew. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; tubes very irregular ; rays scarcely visi-
ble.
347 Rhododendron arboreum. Ghorans or Ghonas, P. ; Tuggoo, N. ;
fr. Nipal.
The wood resembles plum-tree ; used for gun-stocks.
348 Rhododendron arboreum (white-flowered variety). Teuggoo
Tuggoo (Teuggo means white), N. ; Saphed Gonos or Ghorons,
P. ; fr. Nipal.
Grows to a large size. — Sp. 6 inch. diam. ; wood rather hard, pale brown ;
rays in the outer layers very distinct ; tubes few and large ; layers indistinct.
349 Rhododendron campanulatum. Cheriala, P. ; Teotosa, N. ; fr.
Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. 3*1 inch. diam. ; 26 layers, very distinct ; rays indis-
tinct : tubes hardly visible.
350 Rhus Bukkiamela, Roxb. Subuchunsee, N. ; Bukkiamela, P. y
fr. Nipal.
Timber good and large. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. \ greyish white, with consi-
derable lustre j soft, light.
Digitized by
Google
1933.] Catalogue of Indian Woods. IS*
351 Rhus ? Dubdubea ? P. ; Guarnusi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; layers about 10 : fibre light cream-colour, with high
lustre ; rays distinct, reddish brown ; wood very light and soft j bark thin.
352 Rhus succedaneum, fr. Nipal.
A large tree.
353 Rhus juglandifolium, Wall. Chose, N. ; Bhalaeo, P. ; fr. Nipal.
Very like the Japan varnish- tree. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; heart red-brown,
the tubes being filled witfi a substance of this colour ; wood soft, bears a
considerable resemblance to the Lauri, with indistinct rays.
354 Rondeletia cana, Wall. fr. Nipal.
355 Rondeletia coriacea, Wall. Kongeea, P. ; Julsi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Wood close-grained, and becomes of the colour of mahogany some time
after it has been cut ; layers very indistinct : used for rafters, tools, &c. A
red dye is also prepared from it.
356 Rosa macrophylla, Lindl. fr. Gossain-Than, in the Himalaya.
357 Rottlera. Teeta-kath, N. ; Labtesee, P. ; fr. Nipal.
358 Rottlera (perhaps tinctoria), fr. Nipal.
Wood pale brown, compact, hard, fine-grained ; bark very thin.
359 Rottlera tinctoria, fr. Nipal.
Fruit used as a red dye.
360 Rottlera arborea, fr. Nipal.
Wood light, coarse, soft, worm-eaten : inner bark stringy.
361 Rottlera? Keoun-lae, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree ; wood used for rudders, &c.
362 Rottlera. Memasho, B. fr. Tavoy.
363 Rubus Gouriphul. R. ellipticus, Sm. Escallo, P. ; Eesi, N. ;
fr. Nipal.
Common in hedges ; as thick as a stout arm ; fruit eatable.
364 Sabia parviflora. Mhasoosee, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
Bark spongy, of a yellow colour ; sometimes used for marking the fore-
bead.
365 Salix. Bhoelasi, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
A small tree, not more than 8 or 10 inches in diameter.
366 Salix babylonica. Tissee and Bhosee, N. and P. fr. Nipal.
Attains an enormous size.
367 Salix, fr. Nipal.
Saljam. See Calyptranthus.
368 Sandoricum. Thittoo, B. fr. Tavoy.
Wood used for furniture.
Saora. See Tropins.
Sapbed-gonos. See Rhododendron.
Sapbew. See Xanthoxylon.
369 Sapindacea. Dopbari, fr. Gualpara.
A small tree ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
370 Sapotea ? Palaepean, B. fr. Tavoy.
Leaves most beautifully silky and gold colour beneath. A very large tree ;
wood used in building.
Saul or Sal. See Shorea.
371 Schinus Niara, Ham. Niyor, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; a hard, close-grained rather brittle wood, with a resin-
ous scent ; preferred by the natives to almost any other for furniture Ham.
372 Schoepfia fragrans, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 2*5 inch. diam. ; a coarse, light, soft wood.
373 Scytalia Longan, Bot. G.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
I9Q Catalogue of Indian Wood*. [Ami*
874 Scytalia Litchi, Bot. G.
875 Securidaca reniformis, fr. Nipal.
Sp. a soft white wood ; rays of the same colour as the fibre.
Seesaong. See Aralia.
876 Semecarpus Anacardium. Marking-nut, fr.
Wood soft, and full of acrid juice ; not used.
877 Shorea robusta. Saul or Sal.
This is the staple timber of Hindostan for building purposes : rast quan-
tities of dammar, or resin, are extracted from it, as well as from Dipterocar-
pus and Hopea, all of which belong to one family, the Dipterocarpea.
Sida. See Lagerstroemia.
Signa. See Turpinia.
Silapoma. See Myginda.
Sinna. See Budlaea.
Sissoo. See Dalbergia.
378 Smilax. Doduan, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
Sonalu. See Cassia.
379 Sonneratia ? Thaumma, B. fr. Tavoy.
A small tree.
380 Sonneratia apetala, Bot. G.
Soosi-Singhali. See Quercus.
381 Sphaerocaria edulis. Bun-amb, P. ; Lushpoo, Ael, or Ealmarisee,
N. ; fr. Nipal.
Used for posts and for fire-wood. — Sp. the wood has a handsome grain,
like Sycamore, but with scarce any lustre : rays very distinct, of the same
yellowish grey colour as the fibre.
382 Sphserosacme fragrans, fr. Nipal.
A coarse, rather soft, dusky-coloured wood, without lustre.
383 Spondias axillaris. Lupshe, N. fr. Nipal.
Sp. 28 inch. diam. ; layers about 11 ; fibre white, with considerable lustre ;
rays moderately distinct ; tubes rather large.
384 Spondias. Sillaephul, N. fr. Nipal.
385 Spondias acuminata, Bot. G.
A large tree.
386 Spondias Amara. Amra, fr. Gualpara,
Grows to a good size, but is not made use of.— Ham.
387 Stercolia ? Kuneenee, B. fr. Tavoy.
Attains an enormous size. An oil is extracted from the wood by incision,
which is used for torches.
388 Sterculia. Thikadoo, fr. Tavoy.
389 Sterculia angustifolia, fr. Bot. G.
390 Sterculia. Bahelli, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes. — Ham.
391 Sterculia urens. Odla or Hatchanda, fr. Gualpara.
5 cubits in girth ; used for canoes. A coarse rope is made from the bark,
which is used in taking wild elephants. — Ham.
392 Stravadium acutangulum. Hendol, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in diameter ; the wood much used, but neither strong nor hand-
some. — Ham.
Subuchunsee. See Rhus.
Suslendi. See Acer.
393 Syndesmis Tavoyana, Wall. Kee-tha, B. ; red-wood ; fr. Tavoy.
A rery large tree ; used in building, and for boxes, &c.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1883.] Catalog** of Indian Woods. 191
394 Symplocos. Gooki, N. fr. Nipal.
A tall, slender tree ; wood not esteemed. Most of this genus produce a
yellow dye.
395 Symplocos noribunda, fr. Nipal.
A large tree ; wood fine-grained.
396 Symplocos ? Kalikath, P. ; Paunlah, N. ; fr. Nipal.
A large tree. — Sp. wood white, compact, of a ray fine-grain, and as soft
as deal ; no tubes visible ; rays indistinct ; bark as thin as paper.
397 Symplocos. Bulsima, fr. Nipal.
398 Symplocos ? fr. Nipal.
A Urge tree. — Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; wood cream-brown, moderately hard.
399 Symplocos pulcherrima, fr. Nipal.
A small tree.
400 Symplocos lucida, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3 inch. diam. ; rays indistinct ; wood rather hard, very fine-grained,
with little lustre.
401 Symplocos ? Kain-tha-phogee, B. fr. Tavoy.
13 to 17 feet long, 6 to 12 inch. diam. ; used for posts and oars ; affords
good but small crooked timber.
402 Symplocos. Kunneen-keunkee or Kunneen-keunla, B. fr. Tavoy,
Used for beams, posts, &c.
Taila-oon. See Carapa.
Tantheya. See Hopea.
403 Tantheya, B. fr. Tavoy.
Tapahaw. See Laurina.
404 Tanguet nee, fr. Tavoy.
6 to 8 fathoms long, 15 to 20 inch. diam. Does not saw kindly.
Tauntul. See Polygonum.
405 Taxus virgata, Wall. Dheyri, P. ; Lolsi, N. ; fr. Nipal.
Grows to a large size : the green branches are used to adorn houses dur-
ing certain festivals ; timber strong and good. — Sp. 6*5 inch. diam. Axis
very eccentric, 5 | 1 '5 ; all the layers cannot be counted. On the widest
side of the axis are 27 layers in 0*85 inch, beginning from the axis ; near the
outside are 18 layers in 9 inch. ; wood softer, of paler colour, and less
lustre than English yew.
Teak. See Tectona.
406 Tectona grandis. Teak, fr. Martaban.
Several specimens of various qualities.
Teetakuth. See Rottlera.
Tendoo. See Diospyros.
Tengaun. See Hopea.
Teotosa. See Rhododendron.
407 Terminalia. Thuphanga, B. fr. Tavoy.
408 Terminalia bialata, fr. Martaban.
409 Terminalia Bellerica. Bauri, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; used for canoes : the fruit and bark used by tanners.-*
Ham.
410 Terminalia Catappa, fr. Bot. G.
A noble and most ornamental tree : wood very good.
411 Terminalia moluccana. Joynal, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used in boat-building, as the timber is both light and
durable. — Ham.
412 Terminalia Hilka. Hilkha, fr. Gualpara,
6 feet in girth j used for canoes and for furniture. — Ham.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
192 Catalogue of Indian Wood*. [Ann,
413 Ternstroemia napalensis, De Cand, fr. Nipal.
Sp. 3 inch. diam. Outer layers with very distinct rays, of a reddiah
brown ; wood soft and spongy.
414 Ternstroemia. Puzzeen-zwa, B. fr. Tavoy.
A rather large tree, used for posts and rafters.
415 Tetradium? cymosum, Wall. fr. Nipal.
416 Tetradium ? fr. Nipal.
A very large tree.
417 Tetranthera caduca. Pangch-Petiya, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; used for chests and common carpentry. — Ham.
418 Tetranthera. Haola, fr. Gualpara.
3 feet in girth ; wood close and soft ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
419 Tetranthera Paromouja. Paromouja, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; wood close and soft ; used for coarse furniture. — Hem,
420 Tetranthera Dorodmeda. Vagnal or Bagonal, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
421 Teutha, B. fr. Tavoy.
Thathee. See Bignonia.
422 Thauga-etthittoo, fr. Tavoy.
3 to 5 fathoms long, 8 to 12 inches diam. An inferior wood, used in
small buildings.
423 Thau-baun-po, fr. Tavoy.
5 to 8 fathoms long, 12 to 18 inches diam. An inferior light wood, used
for small canoes.
424 Thau-baun-thau-lay, fr. Tavoy.
6 to 12 fathoms long, 13 to 20 inches diam. Wood very pliant ; littla
inferior to Hopea, but does not saw so kindly.
Thaumma See Sonneratia.
Thaun. See Eurya.
425 Theyah, fr. Tavoy.
4 to 6 fathoms long, 10 to 15 inches diam. An inferior wood, used i»
small buildings.
Thikadoo. See Sterculia.
Thittoo. See Sandoricum.
Thitya. See Lauras.
Thoun-ben. 1 e A ^
Thoun.pine./ SeeArtocar P u8 -
Thounkheea. See Pterocarpus.
426 Thounmynga, B. fr. Tavoy.
A middle-sired tree, used in house-building.
Thounsanga. See Myristica.
Thubbae. See Mimusops, Uvaria, Picus.
Thubboobamboo. See Anacardium.
Thuggainee. See Bignonia.
Thuggoo. See Rhododendron.
427 Thunbergia coccinea, fr. Nipal.
Thaumagee. See Elaeocarpus.
Thuphanga. See Terminaha.
Thuppan. See Ficus.
Thurape. See Callophyllum.
Thurratha. See Excoecaria.
428 Thymboo, B. Thau-baun-po, fr. Tavoy
5 to 10 fath. long. 15 to 20 inches diam. Good strong durable Urht
wood ; used in boat-building ; does not saw kindly.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Catalogue of Indian Woods. 193
Tlma. See Quercus.
Timbhus. See Xanthoxylon.
Tirbbne. See Quercus.
Ttoee. See Salix.
429 Tomex, or Litsaea Japonica. Uluyaohama, fr. Gualpara.
6 feet in girth ; used for small canoes.— -Warn.
Toomulsee. See Premna.
Toon. See Cedrela.
430 Town-pine, fr. Tavoy.
7 to 8 fathoms long, 18 to 30 inches thick ; used in boat-building; reck-
oned little inferior to Hopssa.
431 Trophis ? aspera. Saora, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used for joiner's work. — Ham.
Toknee. See Polygonum.
Tokra. See Bauhinia.
Tanabeng. See Artocarpus.
Tungnusi. See Cinchona.
432 Turpinia pomifera. ( Dairy mplea), Phuraaee and Signa, N. fr.
Nipal.
A large tree ; wood of a dull grey colour, light, soft, compact, free-work-
ing, splits easily ; not applied to any particular use.— Sp. 3*2 inch. diam. ;
rays indistinct ; tubes very small ; bark thin, and the inner layer almost black.
433 Ulderoo, fr. Bombay.
Very little liable to split, and therefore used for fuses for bomb-shells.
Uluyaohama. See Tomex.
434 Uncaria pilosa, fr. Nipal.
A small and imperfect specimen.
Uriam. See Andrachne.
435 Urtica, Jeonagkun, N. ; Latasishnoo, P. ; fr. Nipal.
436 Urtica salicifolia, fr. Nipal.
437 Urtica pulcherrima, fr. Bot. G.
438 Uvaria. Thubboo, B. fr. Tavoy.
A large tree, used in boat-building.
439 Uvaria suberosa. Bandorkola, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; a close-grained, soft, brittle wood ; used for posts,
beams, and planks. — Ham.
Vagnal. See Tetranthera.
440 Vangueria edulia. Moyen, fr. Gualpara.
A small timber tree, 4 feet in girth ; used for coarse furniture. — Ham.
441 Vernonia. Magor, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used for coarse furniture. The only one of the numer-
ous tribe of corymbiferous plants that grows to be a timber tree.
442 Vibernum ? Loshima, N. fr. Nipal.
443 Vibernum erubescens, fr. Nipal.
A small-sized tree.
444 Vibernum cordifolium, fr. the Himalaya.
445 Vitex acuminata. Angchhui, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth. A very close, hard, brittle wood ; used for mortars of
oil-mills, feet of bedsteads, &c. — Ham.
446 Vitex Babula. Babla, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; wood close, softy tough ; used for coarse furniture, but
in little estimation. — Ham.
447 Vitex Leucoxylon. Bhodiya, fr. Gualpara.
3 cubits in girth ; used in making ploughs ; will grow on land that is
inundated for weeks together.— .Ham.
c c
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1§4 TabU for ascertaining the Heights of [Apbil.
448 Vitis or Cissus, fr. Nipal.
Sp.4'5 inch. diam.; wood spongv and very coarse-gramed j fibre very
small in proportion to the tubes, which are many and Urge ; rays very dis-
tinct, of a reddish hrown colour, forming a handsome waved figure; bark
stringy.
449 Wrightiagigantea, Wall fr. Nipal.
A large climber.— Sp. 25 inch. diam. ; 10 layers ; wood whitish, with con-
siderable lustre ; rather soft.
460 Wrightia antidysenterica. Lathon, B. fr. Tavoy.
A small tree ; not used.
451 Wrightia tinctoria. (Indigo tree.)
The leaves yield indigo. The wood is " beautifiilly white, dose-grained,
coming nearer to ivory than any other known to «" e "~7*^fJ-
452 Xanthophyllum. Saphew, B. ; Choo-muna, T. ; fr. Martaban.
Very large ; wood used for i>osts and rafters.
453 Xanthoxylon alatum. Timbhus, P. and N. fr. Nipal.
Wood soft and open-grained, like aspen ; bark very tubercular.
454 Xylocarpus. Keannan, B. fr. Tavoy.
Timber from 10 to 20 feet long ; very durable > used for furniture and in
house-building.
Zeetjiee. See Ziziphus.
Zimboon. See Dillenia.
Zitha. See Castanea.
455 Ziziphus incurva. Harobaer, P. ; Kadabusi, N.; fr. Nipal.
Wood in considerable estimation. — Sp. 3*5 inch. diam. ; fibre brownish
white, with little lustre ; rays in the outer layers distinct, but of the
colour as the fibre ; bark coarsely fibrous.
456 Ziziphus. Zeethee, B. fr. Tavoy.
Wood hard and durable.
HI.— Table for ascertaining the Heights of Mountains from the B°H**9
Point of water. By James Prinsep, Sec, $c. >r^
A correspondent has suggested to me that many readers of the
Journal are anxious to possess a ready means of measuring heights
by the temperature of boiling water, as it frequently happens that they
find themselves in situations where this simple method may be appli-
cable when it is out of their power to resort to the more generally
practised operation with a barometer.
I have accordingly drawn out a table founded on the best procurable
data of the present time : but it must not be concealed that sufficient
accuracy has not been attained in experimental researches on steam of low
temperatures to warrant implicit reliance upon the results; for although,
since the important application of steam as a motive power, numerous
experiments have been made to ascertain the elastic tension which it
exerts at different temperatures both below and above the ordinary
boiling point ; still, below 212*, the points fixed by experiment are
at intervals of several degrees asunder, and there is no thorough
accordance between those of different experimenters*
Digitized by
Google
j
1833.] Mountains from the bailing point of water. 195
Perhaps it is necessary to explain, that the boiling point is that degree
of heat at which the elastic force of aqueous vapour is just capable of
counterpoising the pressure of the atmosphere, or the weight of the co-
lumn of mercury in a barometer. The method then of discovering the
law of progression of the tensions has generally had for its basis the ex-
posure to heat of a portion of water in a closed vessel , such as a glass tube
or a email boiler, under the pressure of a column of mercury, measuring
the height to which the latter is raised at different temperatures.
Bitancouet, Schmidt, Dalton, Watt, Crbiohton, Southern,
Taylor, and more recently Urb, Abrbbrobr, Perkins, and Dulono
(assisted by a commission of the French Academie), are some of the
fflostriooB names which are connected with these researches experimen-
tally ; while Robison , Young, Ivory, Laplace, Pront, Tredoold,
Coeious, Larochb and others have attempted to construct mathema-
tical formulae, capable of embracing the range of their experiments from
the freezing point up to 500° Farh.* It is quite unnecessary for me to
enter into any lengthened history of this branch of physics, which the
reader will find ably discussed in Robisons Mech. Phil., Biot, Tredgold
an the Steam Engine, DanielTs Meteorology, and in the report of
Dulono to the Academie on the experiments made by order of the
French Government to determine the elastic force of aqueous vapour at
high temperatures. [An. Chim. xliii.]
All the experiments agree in proving the elastic force of steam to
follow a geometrical ratio with arithmetical increments of heat. The
index of the power representing the law of variation was assumed as
5.13 by Southern, 6 by Crbiohton, 7 by Young, by Coriolis 5,355,
and by Dulono 5. But the formula of Tredoold is acknowledged to agree
more closely with experiments below 300° than any other : — his ex-
ponent is also 6, with a different co-efficient ; if f = elastic force, and
t temperature, then by his formula
/- (i+J™ )% or 1-177/* -100'
\ 177 /
in logarithms
log./ = 6 Gog- ( ' + 100) — 2.247968)
• The experiments of the French Academicians Baron de Prony, Arago, Gerard
aodDnlong, in 1829, extend to the temperature of 435 s Fahrenheit, or a pressure of
24 atmospheres, which they measured by absolute pressure of a column of mercury
****/*** high in a glass tube attached to the tower of the Old Church of Sainte Ge-
seriere:— they were afraid of passing this limit, as the least explosion would have
brought down the tottering fabric. Their glass tube was jointed and ingeniously
ispported: Mr. Daniell has however since worked with single glass tubes of 40 feet
tag, in his water barometer experiments. We deal now-a-days boldly with feet,
vhere inches were formerly thought sufficient !
c c 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
196
Table for ascertaining the Heights of
[Aprii.,
With this formula I had constructed a table from 214° to 180 # , when
I perceived that the calculated pressures gradually gained upon the ex-
perimental ones within the same range, until at 180°, the difference wm
a full third of an inch. This will be seen in the diagram of Plate VIII,
and in the following comparative table :
Temperature Calculated Tepsion Observed Difference* Observer
by Tredgold's formula Tension
in.
30.00 assumed
28.88 + .02 Ure
28.82 —.04 Robison
24.37 —.31 Wollaston
24,00 —.07 Dalton
23.60 —.11 Ure
22.86 —.85 Robison
19.00 —.35 Ure
18.80 —.35 Dalton
16.01 —.34 Southern
15.16 —.51 Ure
14.73 ? —.94 Watt
14.60 —.50 Dalton
13.18 —.28 Dalton
12.72 —.45 Southern
Robison's numbers are much too low : the others, Dalton 's, South-
bun's, and Ure's, agree pretty well together, gradually separating from
the curve of Trbdgold's formula. On the supposition that the experi-
mental results, when they evince so much regularity, are more trust-
worthy than the calculus, (which is indeed empirically formed to suit
them), I have made a deduction of [0.01 inch X number of degrees be-
low 212], from the numbers inTaBDGOLn's column, and then I find that
the experimental and theoretical curves coincide very well throughout
the range required for our purpose.
The extreme difference at 180° will thus amount to
inches.
log. of 15,67 = 1.19511
log. of 15,31 = 1.18611
2*12
in.
30.00
210
28.86
210
28.86
202
24.68
200.75
24.07
200
23.71
200
23.71
190
19.35
189.5
19.15
182
16.35
180
15.67
180
15.67
178.25
15.10
173
13.46
172
13.17
.00900
c=90 fathoms or 540 feet, a quantity of too much magnitude to be
passed over.
Having thus explained the construction of the following Table, I
will proceed to make a few remarks on the mode of using the instru-
ment to which it applies*
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Mountains from the boiling point of water. 197
The Rev. F. J. H. Wollaston was the first to introduce the ther-
mometer practically as a substitute for the barometer in measuring
heights. His plan was merely to render the thermometer more deli-
cate by increasing the bulb, and allowing the mercury to enter the
capillary tube only when it approached the boiling point, so that a few
degrees occupied the whole scale, and by a sliding nonius each degree
could be divided into 200 parts or more. But it is evident that to
compete with the barometer in accuracy of indications, the scale must
have a range of the same length as that of the barometer, — say 15
inches, and the instrument would thus become fragile and unwieldy :
to obviate this inconvenience, he formed a reservoir above the capillary
tube, containing a small supply of mercury, so that when the boiling
temperature should be so reduced as to bring the reading point to the
foot of his 6-inch scale, a portion of mercury was to be added to bring it
to the top of the scale, by an operation so delicate and difficult that I
may safely say, and from experience too, that few travellers would re-
sort to it in the field, and fewer Btill succeed if they attempted it. In 1817,
he exhibited his thermometer to the Royal Society, and in 1820, he ap-
plied it to the measurement of Snowdon. On the latter occasion, he drew
up a table of the value of the degrees between 214° and 202° in feet,
founded on Doctor Urb's empirical formula of tensions ; but, as this
range only extends to an altitude of 5405 feet, it is evidently quite in-
sufficient for the traveller in India, who may ascend to 18,000 feet and
still see Snowdons towering above his head.
The error into which Wollaston fell was an attempt at too great
sensibility. His instrument is beautiful in a laboratory, where it will
serve to shew minute variations in the index error, as it may be called,
of a barometer in the course of years, as I have frequently proved. But
for rough work out of doors, accuracy must in some measure be sacri-
ficed to strength and portability, the points in which alone the thermo-
meter can boast superiority over the barometer. Captain Herbert
was bo well aware of this, that he had provided himself from England
with ordinary thermometers divided, from 180° upwards, to the tenths of
degrees : half a division thus represented about 25 feet, which in
most cases was ample, especially when the zero of elevation, or level of
the sea, was 1000 miles distant.
All who possess thermometers, therefore, divided to tenths of inches,
may convert them into measurers of height, by attending only to a few
trifling precautions in their use.
1. The prime boiling point 212° should be accurately verified by com*
parison with a good barometer, for the divisions of the instrument-
makers are by no means to be trusted within the requisite limits. Thus,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
198 TMe/or ascertaining the Heights of [Awn*
on some standard thermometers in the Surveyor General's office, in our
experiments on the standard bar, we found the boiling point erroneoai
two degrees : and Lieut. Buensb found his thermometer boil on the
Caspian Sea at 213*j which would make its surface 700 feet below the
level of the Mediterranean, whereas it is only suspected of half that
depression.
2. The metal or wooden scale should be cut off at some height shore
the bulb, as otherwise it is very difficult to obtain the temperature cor-
rectly, or even to attain full ebullition, on account of the rapid abstrac-
tion of heat by the scale, particularly if it be of metal.
3. The vessel in which the water is boiled should be of metal,
closed loosely with a cover or cork through which the thermometer
may pass, so that the bulb may remain a trifle above the surface of the
water. To those who cannot provide themselves with a boiler simflsr
to that of Wollaston, a shaving pot will be found to answer sufficient-
ly well. The steam should issue freely through the vent for some time
before the reading is taken.
. A word or two, now, on the mode of applying the following table
to the calculation of the height required.
1 . When the thermometer has been boiled at the foot and at the
summit of a mountain, nothing more is necessary than to deduct the
number in the column of feet opposite the boiling point below, from
the same of the boiling point above: — this gives an approximate
height, to be multiplied by the number opposite the mean temperature
•f the air in Table II. for the correct altitude.
feet.
Example. Boiling point at upper station 201.5 = 5600
Ditto at lower station 211.3 = 350
Approximate height, 5250
Temperature of air, above, 35 #
below, 50
Mean 42,5 = multiplier, ♦ 1.022
Correct altitude, ft. 5865 J
2. When the boiling point at the upper station alone is observed, and
for the lower the level of the sea or the register of a distant barometer
is taken, then the barometrical reading had better be converted into
feet by the usual method of substracting its logarithm from 1,47712
(log. of 30 inches) and multiplying by .0006, as the differences in tiie co-
lumn of "barometer" vary more rapidly than those in the "feet" column.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.3 Mountains from the boiling point of water . 199*
feet.
Example. Boiling point at upper station 185* = 14548
Barom. at Calcutta (at 32°) 29.75
Logar. diff. » 1.47712— 1.47349 = ,00363 x.0006 = 218
Approximate height 14330
Temperature, upper station, 76 1 SQ = multi Uer llQ0
Calcutta, . . 84 J r
Correct altitude, ft. 15763
3. Assuming 30.00 inches as the average height of the barometer at
the level of the sea (which is however too much), the altitude of the
upper station is at once obtained by inspection of table I, correcting
for temperature of the stratum of air traversed, by table II.
lTjLBlJI I.
1 ing to any
jstftaggtator
hMLM I. — To find the Barometrical Pressure and Elevation correspond
ing to any observed temperature of boiling water between 214° and 180°
214
213
212
211
210
209
208__
207
206
205
204
203_
202
201
200
199
198
197
196
195
194
193
192
191
190
189
188
187
186
185
184
183
182
181
180
Barometer (mo-
dified from Tred-
gold't formula.)
31.19
30.59
30.00
29.42
28.85
28.29
27.73
. 27.18
26.64
26.11
25.59
25.08
24.58
24.08
23.59
23.11
22.64
22.17
21.71
21.26
20.82
2039
19.96
19.54
19.13
18.72
18.32
17.93
17.54
17.16
16.79
16.42
16.06
15.70
15.35
Logarithmic dif-
ferences (or fa-
thoms).
.00 84,3
84,5
84,9
85,2
85,5
85,8
86,2
86,6
87,1
87,5
87,8
88,1
88,5
88,9
89,3
89,7
90,1
90,5
91,0
91,4
91,8
92,2
92,6
93,0
93,4
93,8
94,2
94,8
95,3
95,9
• 96,4
<: 96,9
.: »M
tr 97,9
Total Altitude
from 30.00 in. or
the level of the
Sea.
The fourth column gives
feet.
—1013
— 507
+ 509
1021
1534
2049 _
2566
3085
3607
4131
4657-
5185
5716
6250
6786
7324
7864
8407
8953
9502
10053
10606
11161
11719
12280
12843
13408
13977
14548
15124
15702
16284
16868
17455
the heights in feet
Value of each,
degree in feet of
Altitude.
Proportion-
ial part for
one-tenth of
a degree.
feet.
—505
—507
+509
511
513
515
517
519
522
524
526
528
531
533
536
538
541
543
546
548
551
553
556
558
560
563
565
569
572
575
578
581
584
587
feet.
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
*.'/
Digiti
zed by G00gle
200
Table for ascertaining Heights, fa.
[Apbil,
Table II, of Multipliers to correct the approximated Height /or tff
Temperature of the Air.
i -
Temp, of Air. 1 Multiplier. iTemp. of Air.
Multiplier.
Temp, at Air.
Moltipfis.
•
32 1,000
6
52
1,042
e
72
1,083
33
1,002
53
1,044
73
1,085
34
1,004
54
1,046
74
1,087
35
1,006
55
1,048
75
1,089
36
1,008
56
1,050
76
1,091
37
1,010
57
1,052
77
1,094
38
1,012
58
1,054
78
1,096
39
1,015
59
1,056
79
1,098
40
1,017
60
1,058
80
1,100
41
1,019
61
1,060
81
1,102
42
1,021
62
1,062
82
1,104
43
1,023
63
1,064
83
1,106
44
1,025
64
1,066
84
1,108
45
1,027
65
1,069
85
1,110
46
1,029
66
1,071
86
1,112
47
1,031
67
1,073
87
1,114
48
1,033
68
1,075
88
1,116
49
1,035
69 -
1,077
99
1,118
50
1,037
70
1,079
90
1,121
51
1,039
71
1,081
91
1,123
Enter with the mean temperature of the stratum of air traversed
; and mult^i
the approximate height by the number opposite, for the true altitude
The table of Tensions (tab. I.) is still avowedly imperfect. We see that
the force of vapour for 210°, as found by observation, differs several hun-
dredths of an inch from the formula of either Dalton, Ure, or Trkd-
oold, although only two degrees distant from the fixed point 212°. Nor
can it surprise us to find it so, because its experimental determination, bj
heating vapour inclosed within the thick glass of a barometer tube, is ne-
cessarily subject to much more uncertainty than the obvious measurement
of the boiling point, under a given pressure of the air. On the moun-
tains of India, at Simla, Subathti, Chirra Punjf, and even Spiti, where-
ver in short there may be observers in possession of good barometers,
the power exists of rendering an essential service to physics by fixing
so many points on the scale of tensions, in the latter more unexception-
able manner. For instance, an observer at Chirra, by carefully noting
the heat of his boiling tea-kettle every morning, and inserting it in his
register, together with the accurate height of the barometer, would de-
termine that part of the thermometric scale corresponding to 25 and
26 inches of pressure. So with observations at Sagur, for 28 inches;
at the Nilgherries for 21 inches ; and in the Himalaya for even 15
inches : and I hope that this notice may have the effect of inducing this
new and interesting species of synthetical research, as a check upon the
scales framed on an opposite system in the laboratory.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Translation of a Tibetan Passport. 201
IV.— Translation of a Tibetan Passport, dated A. D. 1688. By M.
Alex. Csoma de Kords.
[Read 24th April, 1833. J
In Hyde's Historia Religionis Veterum Persarum (2nd edition, page
552-3), there is an engraving of a passport granted by the governor
(or grand Lama) of Lassa, to an Armenian, of which, at the time of its
publication, no European was able to decypher the characters. The
learned author's account of it is in the following words :
" Secundo damns Scripturam Tataromm deBoutan* (al. Boutunt) citra Imawm
supra ladies*. Hujus lectio eat a dextraf : et hocce ejasdem elegantissimum spe-
cimen eft, id quod vulgo sonat, tm passport, seu tatviconductiU lkerae, a principa
orbis et provinciss de Boutan datae, nuperis annis, Chogja Ouanni (i. e. Domino
Jotnoi) mercatori Armeno ibidem negotiant! : et dictus princeps nomen suum (nt
▼ides) tigiiH loco et forma majusculis et implicatis characteribus infra apposait.
Talk sigiili impressio arabibw dicitnr f^y» tankia; Persi* et Tureii Lib togrd,
Bade, apod eoe, talis majnsculotnm characternm scriptor, aat talis sigiili factor, vel
ippotitor sen principis Bubsignator, vocatur Tograi. Hanc chartam nobiscnm com-
nuoicavit singularis amicus D. Job. Evans S. T. D. nuperis annis ex India redux."
The character of this curious manuscript proves to be the small
nmmng-hand of the Tibetans, written. and engraved with hardly a sin-
gle error. The following is a version of it in Roman characters,
which may be interesting to those who possess Hyde's very learned
Tohune.
Cabos-ikhor dPal-gyi Lha-sa nas. — rGya-gar Aphogs-yul bar-gyi Sa-lam-du
Akhod-pabi Ser, skya, drag, zhan, Lhahi mi-rje rdsong fodod ^nyer las-Adsin, Sog,
Bod, Hor, ABrog, ir-Achhihi agrul Agrims, lam Aphrangs forung okag, rgan mi
Aaaagt bya-ra ihi drag-gis Biie* sl£bs ochas mthah -dag-la springs pa. — Lha-sa
ptan-ttliogs Jchangrlo-chan-gyi Agron-po *»Go-dkarJ It'hang-na-chan mi fehi
saon khal fchu-drug ochas nyl-khohi ts'hong gyur grubs-nas rang yul-du log
Apo-var ttahur-gyi (? Lhahur-gyi) mts'hon gang spyihi par rog nyan-du gang
Agio-las sne gor Ap'hrog fchom sogs gnod Agol-du log-par Agro-va nyan ma byed-
par pair phyir-da 6de-var Agrims-chhug. — Zhea sa-Abrug zla ts'hes-la lugs ^nyia
kyi adua-sa Chhos-Akhor chhen-po dPal-gyi Lha-sa nas bris.
, though applied by Europeans and Mohammudans to Tibet generally, is
properly the name of one of the southern provinces, called in Tibetan Llopato :
Ucna is the capital of Tibet Proper or U-ttang. [See Journ. As. Soc. i. 123.]
t This is of course a mistake : the Tibetan reads like the Sanskrit from the left
I The name mGowfkar (properly white-headed, but rendered by me, above, by
Mohammedans) formerly was applied in Tibet both to the Muhammedans of India
sad to the Europeans. But of late the Tibetans have commenced calling the Euro-
peans by the name of Phtting-pa, and an European of British India by that of
rGyePhiling (-pa) or Indo-European.
D D
Digiti
zed by G00gle
903 Translation of a Tibetan Passport. [Aran,
Bod-pahi zla Adres med-ching lo-thog mi-khal-gyi Akhri Jgrub des Agre* byung
phyin Ade-var Agrims chhug.
A »quar»
Translation.
" From tlie noble (city) Lhassa, the circumambulating race of
religion. — To those that are on the road as far as Arya Dlsa or India,
to clerical, laical, noble, ignoble lords (or masters) of men ; to resi-
dents in forts, stewards, managers of affairs, to Mongols, Tibetans,
Turks, and to dwellers in tents in the desert ; to ex-chis (or el-chis,
envoys, or public messengers, vakils or ambassadors, Ac.) going to
and fro ; to keepers and precluders of bye-ways (or short-cuts) ; to the
old (or head) men, collectively, charged to perform some business of
small or great importance ; to all these is ordered (or is made known).
These four foreign (or travelling) persons residing at Lhassa, /chang-
lo-chan, Mohammedans of It'hang-na, after having exchanged their
merchandize, going back to their own country, having with them six-
teen loads on beasts ; having nothing for their defence except some
Lahori- weapons, — do not hinder, rob, plunder, et cetera, them; but let
them go to and fro in peace.
Thus has been written from the noble Lhassa, the great religious
race, from the senate-house of both ecclesiastical and civil affairs, in
Sa-Abrug* (in the year of T. ch. 1688). On the day of the
month. (These dates are wanting).
Note. — There is no Tibetan joined with them. They have about a
man's load of victuals wrapped up in a bundle ; with that there has been
made an increase (of packages), but let them go in peace."
A tqnsfB I
• Sa-Abrug (earth '« dragon) ii the title of the second year of the Tibetan cycle of
sixty years : it corresponds with Vibhava of the Indian and VA DM* of the Chinese
cycle. The Tibetan reckoning commences from February, 1026 : as therefore
Hyde's first edition was printed in 1701, and he uses the expression " nuperit mum
§x India redux," the MSS. has been referred to the twelfth cycle, then current,
which fixes its date to the year 1688.
Colonel Warren in the Kola Sankattta (Chron. tab. xxi.) has given a mil de-
acription of the Indian system ; — a catalogue of the Tibetan cycle, which is two-
fold, one following the Sanskrit, the other following the Chinese system, will be
published in the Tibetan Dictionary now preparing for the press.
Digitized by
Google
1333.] Asiatic Society. 263
V.— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednetday Evernng, 24M April, lg33.
The Honorable Sir Edward Ryan, President, in the Chair.
The minutes of the last meeting were read.
Mr. B. H. Hodgson, Resident at the Nipalese Court, the Rev. Joaiah
Bateman, and Mr. D. M acfarlan, were elected Members.
Read a letter from the Secretary to the Right Hon'ble Sir R. W. Horton,
Governor of Ceylon,expressing acknowledgments^ his Excellency's election
as an Honorary Member, and presenting a copy of the Ceylon Almanac for
1833, containing much unpublished information on the history of Ceylon.
Read a letter from the President of the Central Committee of the Geo-
graphical Society of Paris, acknowledging receipt of the 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, u,
15, and 16 volumes of the Researches.
Read a letter from J. Forshall, Esq. Secretary to the British Museum,
acknowledging the receipt of the Journal As. Soc. 1832.
Read a letter from Col. Wm, Casement, Secretary to Government, Milk
tary Department, forwarding on the part of the Madras Government :
'• Results of tbe Astronomical Observations made at the Madras Observatory,
vol. 1st, 1831, by T. G. Taylor, Esq. H. C. Astronomer."
The following books were presented by the Venerable Archdeacon Corrie,
on the part of the Rev. Joseph Wolff.
1. Armenian Calendar, printed at Constantinople in the Armenian Era 1151 or
A. D. 1702.
Mr. J. Avdall pointed out the following historical memorandum written on the
cover of this work in Armenian, probably at Cabul.
" In tbe year 1824, on the 23rd July, Habib Ullah Khan was conquered by Dost
Mohammed Khan."
2. Devotional Meditations, written by St. Gregory Narekenses, in the beginning
of the 11th century, and published at Constantinople in 1185, Armenian Era, or
A. D. 1736.
3. Tawarfkh Khan Jahani o Makhzani Afghani, 1st vol.
4. Tarikh Akberi.
5. Shojr&walosat Afghani o Paris.
6. Qoran Sherif.
The following books were presented by Monsieur Murelatour, their author.
1. Premier fruit des trois jours de Gloire, Paris 1831.
2. Le Siege D'Eden Allegorie Orientate, Paris 1827.
3. Triomphe de L' Amour sur le Fanatisme et le Materialisme, Paris 1828.
The following book was presented by the author.
Rasselas, translated into Bengalee, by Maha Raja Kalikishen Bahadur.
Mr. Csoma de Koros presented a Catalogue of the Tibetan Books in the
Society's Library, with a recommendation that the numerous duplicates and
extra copies of several of them should be presented to learned Societies in
Europe*.
• A* toon at we are in pow mm oo of Tibetan type, we ihall give insertion to this valuable catalogue*
<— ato.
DD 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
294 Asiatic Society. [Area.,
Antiquities.
Read a letter from W. Storm, Esq. presenting for deposit in the cabinet,
the three coins exhibited to the Society on the 5th September, 1838.
These coins were found in estate No. 100 (No. 74 of Captain Prinsep's Soon-
durbun Map), west of the ruins of Bishenpur, on the Ishamati or Jabuna river, near
an old temple called MM B&ri.
The Secretary noticed a simple method employed by the nathres in taking off fee-
similes of coins on paper : they daub a little printer's or pakka ink on the projecting
parts of the coin, and then transfer it by pressure on to the fleshy part of the thumb
— thence a faithful representation is impressed upon the paper,, previously wetted,
which has the advantage of not being reversed.
Four silver coins found at Agra, 1 of Akber, 2 of Jehangir, and 1 of
Alamglr 11— presented by CapU J. T. Boileau, Engineer*.
Literary.
Translation of a Tibetan Passport, engraved in Hyde's Rdigio Permtnan.
By M. A. Csoma de Koros,
[This will be found in the present number, p. 201.]
Selections from Mr. Csoma's translations from the 6Stan-Agyur were also
read — among them, the letter of Ratnavali, a young Princess of Ceylon,
to Shakya, and the reply of the sage. This letter is generally known in
Tibet, and is introduced in every collection of epistolary forma.
[The want of Tibetan type obliges us to defer the insertion of this curious mor-
ceau, which however is but a literal translation from the Sanskrit.]
Physical.
A gigantic specimen of Fossil Ammonite, from the Carboniferous Lime-
stone of Swansea, was presented by Lieut. J. A. Crommelin, Engineers.
Read a letter from Lieut. J. T. Smith, Masulipatam, forwarding the Geo.
logical specimens of the late Dr. Voysey, alluded to at the last meeting;
also the following mentioned in Dr. Malcolmson's letter.
1» Fragment of the Meteorolite, which fell in the Cadapah district 2nd
January, 1831*.
2. Fossil Shell and Bone, noticed at the meeting of the 20th February.
3. Limestone from Warapilly, which seems well adapted for Lithogra-
phic purposes.
4. Fragment of Bone, from a Cave in the neighbourhood of Hyderabad,
explored by Dr. Malcolmson, who gives the following description of it.
" Some interesting facts occurred to me the other morning in a ride to a large
mass of granite rock near this, which is rent into fissures of great depth, forming
dens inhabited by hyaenas and chit at, extending through the bottom of the little
hill to unknown depths. Having entered one of the rents, I was struck with the
masses of fallen rock on each side being covered with stalagmite formed from the
water running down from the sides of the rent 40 feet above, and still more by observ-
ing that the sides of the narrow passage bore a fine polish, which my companion im-
mediately exclaimed, must be caused by the animals passing out of a cave at the end
of the fissure he had been examining. I had the same thing in view, and was at
the time observing how far it could be caused by the water. In tracing the same
appearance in other places, it was only observed where the animals would
• Vide OLBAwiaos, iii. 969.
Digitized by
Google
1893.] Asiatic Society. 205
rily pass, and, when the stones projected by a sharp point into the path, the angles
only were polished. The den was low, and numerous bones lay scattered in the
outer parts into which I crawled: the foot marks of the animals were dis-
tinct and fresh. Most of the bones were much broken, and the dung of the
hyenas near the place were full of large pieces of ribs, unbroken tarsal bones, &c
During the search, I was astonished at the vast numbers of rats' heads and
bones found in the place in little heaps, evidently out of reach of the hyaenas,
and often on the top of insulated blocks ; these were below the fissures open at
the top, and the dung of hawks readily suggested that they were dropped by
these birds, which was confirmed by a large feather of one found with the bones.
Some of the bones were surrounded with the fur of the animal, and had been only
recently voided ; and what was remarkable, the upper and lower jaw were not sepa-
rated, but the flesh beautifully cleaned away by the digestive process ; the other bones
were entire, although disunited. In the larger skulls, the back part had been
broken, and in one only, crushed. In a few minutes, I removed a plate full of
skulls and other bones, amongst which are three species of mus, squirrel, sorex, bats,
and birds. Had the rock been of lime and stone, fossil animal remains would have
been found. The curious confirmation of Buckland's supposition regarding the
polished blocks in the caves appears to me very interesting, as his views stood
much in need of illustration from the habits of living species/'
Specimens of Fossil Shells from Jabulpur— •presented by Dr. Spiisbury.
" The locality of the fossil shells, which I have at length the pleasure to send to
the Society, lies about 18 or 20 miles east of Jabalpur. The first three miles cross a
sandy plain, which abruptly terminates at a small rivulet ; when the soil changes
to the black alluvial one of the valley. At six miles cross the Gour river, a rough
ghat of trap : the road winds on between trap hills varying from 50 to 300 feet
high. I encamped at Suleya on the same river (here 200 feet broad) : the bed in-
tersected with veins of heliotrope, quartz, massive and crystallized. The road then
led through an undulating country, with irregular masses of trap, and for less than
a mile beyond, masses of the accompanying shell breecia, from a single shell to large
blocks of two feet, extend, mixed with the trap, over a space about 300 feet square.
The spot had been under titles cultivation. There was no n&ld or ravine near,
whence I could judge of the nature of the substrata, but at no great distance I could
see the trap appearing precisely as in the bed of the river. I asked the lime-burner
how be came to discover them ? His account was, that he is in the habit of taking
small quantities of lime to the neighbouring villages for sale, and in his travels has
an eye to the geological features of the country as far as limestone is concerned :—
passing this field some nine or ten months ago he was struck with the very differ-
ent appearance and color of the stones, — and hence the discovery of these fossil
shells."
The matrix of these shells appears to be indurated clay, and the forms of the
shells are in most cases replaced with silicious matter ; they resemble, as Dr. Spiis-
bury suggests, the buccinum and other shells in the Gawelgir range of hills de-
scribed by Voysey, (Gleanings, vol. i. p. 356*.)
Some specimens of Minerals from Manipur, Kachar, Kabu, and Assam,
including fossil wood from the Ningti river— presented by Captain R. B.
Pemberton.
• We hope ere long to prticnt our readers with drawings of these ihelb.— Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
806
Miscellaneous.
[Aran*
VI . — Miscellaneous.
1. — Indian Meteorology.
1.— Meteorological Register kept at Bijnore, (Northern Moradabad,) by
E. J. Ravenehaw, Eeq,
At 10 a.m.
At 4
P. M.
Remarks.
Bar.
Ther,
Bar.
Tber.
July21
28,86
86
28,77
87
Rain in the morning.
89
28,75
87
Fair all day.
23
28,85
88
28,75
90
Ditto, very cloudy at sunset.
24
28,83
82
28,75
83
Rain in the morning and more or less all day.
25
28,90
85
28,75
85
Fair all day.
26
28,83
83
28,75
86
Rain in the morning; fair after 11 o'clock.
27
28,78
85
28,74
84
Wind and rain at noon.
28
28,76
86
28,74
37
High wind at 10 ; cloudy; all day rain.
29
28,75
86
28,73
88
Cloudy ; all day rain.
30
28,79
86
28,73
88
Cloudy ; all day rain.
31
28,76
87
28,74
87
Ditto.
Aug. 1
•28 84
83
28,74
84
Rain ; in morning clear.
2
28,79
85
28,74
87
Fair all day.
3
28,78
85
28,75
88
Slight rain at 10; clear afterwards.
4
28,86
84
28,80
85
Clear at 10 ; rain morning.
5
28,86
85
28,76
84
Heavy rain at 1 p. m.
fi
28,83
85
28,76
85
Clear all day till 4 P. M. slight rain.
7
i8,82
84
28,74
85
Cloudy,
Thunder storm and very heavy rain in the
morning ; clear after 10 a. if.
8
28,90
82
28,83
84*
9
28,95
82A
28,85
84^
Fair all day, with clouds.
10
28,96
83J
28,85
86j
Fair all day, ditto.
11
28,92
844
28,83
86
Ditto.
12
28.85
83J
28,75
85
Ditto.
13
28,80
82A
28,80
84*
Light rain in the morning ; fair all day.
14
28,86
81}
28,80
84
Fair all day, with clouds.
15
, ,
28^0
83
Ditto.
16
28,90
82*
28,80
844
Ditto.
17
28,86
m
28,80
87
Ditto.
18
28,88
85}
. .
Very cloudy in afternoon.
19
. .
. .
28,76
864
84}
Fair, with clouds and distant clouds.
20
28,85
82
28,76
Fair, with clouds.
21
28,93
81
28,84
81
Heavy rain at night, and in morning.
22
28,90
8IJ
28,80
84
Fair, with clouds.
23
28,86
84
25,77
86
Ditto.
24
28,90
82
28,86
82
Ditto ; west wind.
26
2S.HII
83
28,76
86
Ditto.
27
28,90
82
28,87
80
Rain at night and afternoon.
28
28,96
804
28,88
m
Rain in morning ; fair afternoon.
29
28,94
82
28,84
86
Fair.
30
28,89
82}
28,80
86
Strong westerly wind ; fair.
31
28,86
82
Ditto.
Sept- 1
28,92
83
28,84
86
Ditto.
2
28,97
85
28,87
87
Ditto.
3
28,95
86
28,92
87
Wind and rain in the afternoon.
4
28/J9
85
28,89
87
Fair.
5
28,93
85
28,85
87
Ditto.
6
28,92
84
28,83
86
Ditto.
7
, .
28,78
88
Ditto.
8
28,90
83
28,82
84
Ditto.
9
28,90
S3
28,80
86
Ditto.
10
28,91
83
28,84
86
Ditto.
U
28,90
84}
Ditto.
12
28,99
83
. .
13
29,00
83i
28,93
86
Ditto.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1B33.]
Miscellaneous.
207
Meteorological Register
kept at Bijnore, (Northern Moradabad.) by B. /. Raven-
thaw, Esq. (continued,)
At 10
A. M.
At 4 p. m.
Remarks.
Bar.
Then
Bar.
Ther.
8epU4
29,00
83
28,95
87
Strong west wind in the morning.
15
99,03
83
28,97
87
Ditto west wind ; fair.
16
99,04
80
28,96
87
Ditto ; ditto; cloud of locusts.
17
28,96
83}
28,88
87
Ditto.
18
28,96
84*
28,90
86
Fair. "
19
29,07
84
29,03
86
Ditto.
90
29,13
83
29,06
87
Ditto.
29
29,03
79
Ditto.
23
29.10
82
29,00
84
94
£' 10
791
29,00
82
96
29,10
80*
29,00
82
Rain about 1p.m.: cloudy evening
96
29,10
79
29,04
82
Fair. ' ^
27
29,12
79
29,06
82|
Ditto.
28
29,16
81
29,10
83
Ditto.
99
29,23
801
29,15
83
Ditto.
30
29,18
81
, #
. .
Oct 1
29,16
82
29,10
81}
Cloudy with rain.
2
29,15
79
29,9
82
Clouds.
3
29,16
81
29,9
84
Fair.
4
29,20
80
29,9
83
Ditto.
6
29,21
79
29,10
84
Ditto.
6
99,90
81
29,6
83
Ditto.
7
99,10
82
28,98
84
Ditto.
8
99,00
79
28,97
85
Ditto ; high wind, w.
9
99.05
80
28,99
85
Ditto; ditto.
10
29,10
78
29,03
84
Ditto; ditto.
11
29,10
76
29,03
82
Ditto.
19
29,16
77
. .
. .
Hiph easterly wind.
13
99,93
77
29,17
81
Fair ; no wind.
14
99,23
71
29,19
80
Ditto.
15
S* 36
76
29,20
80|
Ditto.
16
S* 30
75
29,20
80
Ditto; W.breese.
17
S 34
731
29,23
78
18
S* 30
7?
29,20
78
19
99,97
79
. .
90
99,96
79
. .
.
21
99,96
73
29,19
71
99
99,94
71|
29,18
78
93
99,19
73*
. .
. #
94
99,16
79
, .
. ,
25
..
, .
29,12
76
96
99,24
72
29,20
711
71}
97
. .
29,23
98
99,31
74J
29,24
75
99
29,36
76
. .
. .
30
29,36
74
. .
31
99,24
73
. .
# m
Clonds in the evening.
Nor. 1
29^24
74
. .
. .
High easterly wind ; clonds.
9
29,33
74
29,15
77
Ditto.
3
29,29
76
29,15
771
Ditto.
4
29,24
73
29,16
76
Ditto.
6
..
. .
99,22
76|
6
29,34
71
29,30
74
•
10
..
. .
29,20
75
Rain in the evening.
19
29,37
70
. .
, #
96
29^3
68
. .
, .
97
29,30
68
, .
. #
99
%F*
69
..
. .
Cloudy ; wind easterly; light rain.
30
29,33
70
• •
. Fever and ague prevalent from the beginning of September to end of October.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
308
Miscellaneous.
2.— Meteorological RtgUter kept at Moettferptr, Tirhoot, by T. Datkwmd, Eta.
i
Barometer.
Ther. in
doors.
Ther. out
of doors.
Wind.
Weather.
c
9|a.m.
41p.m.
9|A.M|4|PM
Mx. IMin.
Dec.
1
1
29,76
69
78,5
60
E.
Clear, bat foggy morning.
2
71
29,67
69
73
79
57
W.
Clear, ditto.
3
7*
,67
67
71
78
60
E.
Clear ; thick fogs.
Clear, bat drizzling rain in the morning.
4
,80
,68
68
71
75
59
W.
6
,78
£2
67
70
73,6
57
W.
Clear all day.
6
?l
68
73
57
W.
Clear.
7
'£
,69
66
68
74
58
W.
Clear,with light cloods in the afternoon.
8
/2
,67
66
68
74
59
w.
Fair, with light floating clouds.
Light floating cloods all day.
9
,77
£2
66
69
76
61
N.W.
10
,77
,69
66
67
7 1*
6]
N. W.
Cloudy all day.
11
12
75
70
,66
66
64
66
65
67,5
67,5
56
53
E.
W.
Rainy morning, fog ; but clear evening.
Thick fog ; clear evening,with high wind
13
72
70
62
62
66
47
w.
Clear, with morning fog.
14
75
,66
61
63
67
53
E.
Fog, and clear day.
15
71
,65
61
64
70
53
E.
Fog, but fine day.
16
76
,66
60
66
72,5
55
E.
Clear.
17
,80
70
63
65
73,6
55
E.
Clear.
18
78
,67
62
65
70
52
W.
Clear.
19
,68
,64
61
63
68
50
W.
Clear.
90
76
,66
60
63
68
47
W.
Clear.
91
73
■R
59
62
67
49
W.
Clear.
92
70
,61
60
63
68
52
W.
Clear, but morning fog.
93
,61
,59
60
63
70
49
W.
Clear.
94
,66
,60
60
63
71
53
E.
Clear.
25
,67
,66
60
64
73
49
W.
Clear.
96
,70
,66
69
62
66
45
W.
Clear.
27
J76
,68
57
61
66
48
W.
Clear.
28
,79
70
58
61
67
47
W.
Clear.
29
,77
,69
58
61
67,5
45,5
W.
Clear.
30
,79
72
67
60
65'
42
W.
Clear.
81
Jan.
1
,87
78
54
59
62
41
W.
Clear.
29,96
29,86
55
67
62,5
43
W.
Clear ; fine frosty.
2
,92
,80
55
58
64
45
W.
Clear ; frosty.
3
,87
74
55
58
66,5
50
W.
Clear ; light clouds.
4
,86
73
56
60
66,5
48
E.
Rainy morning, and cloudy afternoon.
Fine, with light cloods.
5
,86
,80
56
60
71
49
E.
8
,91
,83
57
62
72
53
E.
Fog, and clear day.
7
'22
,77
60
63
72
53
E.
Fog, and clear day, sad west wind.
8
79
71
60
6]
70
49
W.
Clear.
9
,81
71
60
61,5
69
52
W.
Clear.
10
,85
69,5
.
70
54
E.
Clear.
11
,80
,69
61
65
71
54
W.
Clear.
12
,66
,60 61
65
73
53
W.
Clear.
13
70
,60
61
65
73
55
E.
Fine, with light clouds.
14
,68
'S2
62
65
73
51
W.
Clear, and strong west wind.
15
79
70
60
62
68
61
W.
Rain, and cloudy.
16
,66
,60
60
63
72
54
W.
Clear, and strong wind.
Light clouds all day.
17
72
,61
60
62
67
49
E.
18
73
,66 59
63
70
50
W.
Clear.
19
78
7460
62
68
48
W.
Clear.
20
,83
77|59
61
68
47
W.
Clear.
21
|88
,80 58
61
67
47
W.
Clear.
22
,87
78
58
61
68
48
W.
Clear.
23
,86
P
58
61
69
48
W.
Clear.
24
90
,80
59
61
69,5
48
W.
Clear, and east wind in afternoon.
25
'22
,80
67
62
70
53
E.
Slight fog;, and light cloudy afternoon,
96
,90
,80
60
63
71
53
E.
Clear, with flying clouds.
97
,89
,77
60
63
71
54
W.
Clear -
28
90
78 60
64
71,6
51,6
E.
Clear, and N. wind in afternoon..
29
,90
,80161
64
73
55
EL
Foggy morning, and wind in afternoon.
Fog and hasyaU day,and wind afternoon.
30
,94
7062
66
74,6
56
E.
91
77
,67
64
67,5
76
58
S.E.
Clear.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Miscellanea**.
209
Meteorological Register kept at Mozuferp&r, Tirkoot, by T. Dae h wood, Eeq. 1833.
Barometer.
A. V
Feb.
J
2
3
4
5
I
7
I
9
II
II
Y2
n
14
13
M
If
Ifl
19
M
U
B
n
M
25
M
V
P. M.
29,80
79
>,
.ss
*
m
m
m
,60
.60
,69
7m
.m
741
p7n
si
>-2
78
,74
,07
pM
75
•'I
.us
n
•29/0
70
,68
71
,60
£9
..V»
18
,h<
.:>s
,00
Tber. ii
doors.
A. M.
P. M.
63
63
64
64
63
64
6*2
09
63
62,5
64
♦a
,60 63
,61163
,61 63
,63 62
.63 1
,6665
,73 62
.7.-)
06
j, A
00
01
,06
,60
,60
,60
65
04
65
67
66
66
07
67
66,5
67
m
68
66
66
66,5
68
67
66
07
66
00
69
07
06
66
67
70
68
Oft
6«
69
71
71
70
n
n
72
Ther
Mi.
75
79
74
74
73
71,5
70.5
74
74
73
70
75,5
77
74.5
72
725
76
73
76
77
78
80,5
79
79
81
81
80,5
out
ora.
Wind.
Min.
55
E.
58
E.
59
E.
58
S. W.
58
E.
51
W.
53
W.
53
\v.
53
w.
56
vv.
55
vv.
54
\v.
52,5
w.
52
w.
51,5
vv.
50,5
w.
52
E.
53,5
E.
55
\v.
53
E.
55
W.
60
W.
55
vv.
56
w.
56
w.
58
vv.
54
vv.
57
vv.
Weather.
Rainy morning, but clear day.
Clear.
Cloudy all day and rain in the night.
Cloudy, a rainv morning, fair afternoon.
Thick fog, and clear and W. wind in
Thick fog, and clear day. [afternoon
Clear.
Clear, and strong wind.
Clear,and afternoon cloudy & one show-
Clear, [er of rain.
Hazy and cloudy all day.
Clear with strong wind.
Clear with violent VV. wind.
Clear with violent W. wind.
Clear.
Clear. [of rain at night.
Hazy morningand clear day,and shower
Strong wind and clear day.
Fair.
Clear morning and cloudy day.
Clear morning and cloudy afternoon and
Clear. [wind inclining to S.W.
Clear.
Clear.
Clear.
Clear, and strong wind.
Clear, and strong wind.
Clear.
2. — Indian Arts and Manufactures.
Glazed Pottery.
In in essay, published in the Transactions of the Society qf^rts, by Mr. A. Aikin,
occac the following speculations on the origin of the art of glazing earthen- ware,
which he traces to China, and allows no higher a period of antiquity than the thirteenth
century. That the art however was known in early ages to the Egyptians is proved
by the frequent discovery of porcelain figures, enamelled or glazed in various colors,
ud it seems curious that this circumstance should not have been noticed by the an-
&or. Glased tiles were certainly much used in ornamenting tombs and mosques by
the Mohammedan conquerors of India, as most of our readers have had oppor-
tunities of seeing, in the Upper Provinces, and it would be worth while, in illustration
of Mr. Aikia's remarks, to ascertain the age of the most conspicuous darg&h* of
this nature.
" The ancient Greeks appear to have been wholly unacquainted with the art of
Bering earthen- ware with a vitreous glaze ; at least neither Pliny nor other authors
my any thing on the subject, nor am I aware that any specimens of glazed ancient
Gftek or Soman pottery exist. For heating water and other liquids in, metallic
tttKh were generally employed : and for cold liquids, the natural porousness of
*fc wire was corrected by a varnish of wax or resin, which may be seen on all the
willed Etruscan vases.
■ M
Digiti
zed by G00gle
210 Miscellaneous. [April,
" Vitreous glazes, whether employed simply for closing the pores of baked day,
and thus rendering it impermeable to water, or with the further intention of con-
cealing the coarseness and bad colour of the body by a covering of enamel, appear
to have originated in China ; for the earliest European travellers in that country
make mention of temples covered and encrusted by varnished tiles of various
colours.
" The invasion and conquest of China by Zenghts Khan, in 1312, was probably
the event that made known to the rest of Asia and to Europe the art of glazing
earthen-ware. The empire of Zenghis extended from China across the Steppes or
pastoral regions of Asia to the Caucasus, between the Black Sea and the Caspian,
and his son Octai pushed through Russia into Poland and the con6nes of Ger-
many. They likewise, in their victorious progress, held hostile or friendly inter-
course with many of the Mohammedan sovereigns who possessed the countries to
the south and west of them ; and the whole Mohammedan world, though broken
into independent, and frequently conflicting states, was nevertheless pressed into
close union by the crusades, which had hardly yet subsided, and by the now imminent
danger of Tartar conquest. The Moslems were also at this time not only a war-
like but an active, ingenious, splendid, and inquisitive people, possessing a language,
the Arabic, in a great measure common to all who professed the faith of Moham-
med. The similarity of their architecture, in the wide extent of country from the
Ganges to Gibraltar, shews not only a coincidence of feeling but a community of
intercourse. It appears therefore to me by no means improbable, that an invention,
which was largely and generally applied to decorative purposes in Mohammedan
architecture, should have travelled in a few years from the confines of China to
Spain.
** The palace of the Moorish kings at Granada, called Alhambra, was built in 1280,
and many of the rooms are represented as ornamented by lacquered tiles. The
tomb of Sultan Mahommed Khoda-Bendeh, at Sultdnieh, in Persia, was also
built in the thirteenth century : and of this the cupola and minarets are still in
many parts covered with a green lacquered tile, and the great architrave is formed
of a dark-blue one.
" In 1475 was built the painted nuujid in the now ruined city of Gaw f in India:
it derived its name from the profusion of glazed tiles with which it was ornament-
ed ; specimens of which are preserved in the East-India Museum.
" The mother of Shah Abbas, about 1550, built a caravanserai at Mayor, near
Itfah&n, the front gate of which is inlaid with green tiles : and at present the domes
of the mosques of that city are covered with green and blue tiles.
" Marco Polo, the Venetian, visited in 1270 the Court of Kublai Khan, the
grandson of Zenghis, and remained in the employ of that sovereign for several
years ; at the same time, merchants from many of the commercial cities of Italy
were travelling for the purpose of trade, in most of the countries between Syria and
India. By some of these the art of covering baked earthen-ware with an opaque
vitreous glaze might be imported into Italy ; and Florence and its territory soon
became celebrated for the fine works executed on plates of this ware, which met
with a ready sale throughout Europe. The name given in France to these works
was faience, supposed to have been derived from Faenza, a village near Florence, or
perhaps the word is a mere corruption of Firenze, the Italian name of that city,
Tirabobchi mentions one " Luc a dell a Robbia, a Florentine, born in 1388,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 883 .] Miscellaneous. 2 1 1
who appeari to have been the first who made figures of terra cotta and covered
them with a Tarnish, to preserve them from the injuries of time and weather. He
also adorned flat surfaces of terra cotta with various colours, and painted figures
on them, by which he rendered himself so famous that he received orders for them
from all parts of Europe/'
However early the introduction of the art of glazing tiles in India may hare
been, it is certain that as regards vessels for holding liquors, it was little used, or at
least that it has since become obsolete. Enamelling with various glazes on metal
is still practised with great success up the country, but to common cheap pottery
this branch of the art would be inapplicable. We have seen in Dr. Wise's De-
scription of the Hooghly Ice Manufacture (vol. ii. page 80), that the cheap earthen
dishes are only rendered impervious to water by smearing their interior with grease,
or wax, as was customary in Spain and Italy, in olden times, and is even so in the pre-
sent day. The clay of which the common earthen-ware is made in Bengal is of so
fusible a nature that it would not stand the heat necessary for the application of
what is called stone -glaze, made by the vapours of salt at an intense heat, and
metallic glazes are too expensive for so cheap a commodity ; still there are many
cases in which it is most desirable to teach the native potters how to perform this
useful process, and we therefore extract Mr. Aikin's short account of the various
methods of glazing now in use in England. The Khari-matti or porcelain clay of
the Rajmahl and Vmdya hills has been applied to the manufacture of stone-ware
bottles for soda-water, by Dr. J. Jeffreys, at Farakh&b&d, with perfect success ; and
this, being infusible, is capable of receiving the salt glaze, as described below, of
the Vauxhall manufacture.
" I shall now proceed to give a brief account of the manufacture of the common
red pottery ware as practised in the neighbourhood of London, and in various
other parts of the kingdom ; for the principal particulars of which, as well as for
the specimens in illustration of it, I am indebted to Mr. Jones, of Lambeth. The
material is a yellowish brown clay, from Deptford, there being no other near
London on which the glaze will spread with the equality that is required. In ge-
neral the clay is used without any addition ; but such parcels as are too fat or
tenacious are brought to a proper state by mixture with loam. The clay is watered
and turned, but not being an alluvial clay, contains no stones, and therefore, does
not require to be washed over. It is finally passed through the pug-mill in order
to temper it The required form of a pot or pan, or any other article, is given to
it on the wheel, and the ware is dried under cover till it has acquired a consider-
able solidity. The glaze is then put on in the state of cream, by means of a brush*,
care being taken to cover the whole surface as evenly as possible : for small articles
such as pipkins, that are glazed only internally, a little of the cream is poured in
and then poured out again, a sufficient quantity of the glaze adhering to the sur-
fece of the ware.
•* The materialsof the glaze are galena, commonly called potter's lead-ore, ground
to an impalpable powder, and then mixed with clay diffused in water, technically
called slip. This glaze is transparent, and of a pale yellow colour, and consequent-
ly shews through it the colour of the ware ; if a black opaque glaze is required, one
part of common manganese is added to nine parts of galena. After the glaze is
laid on, the ware is again dried, and is then piled in the kiln in order to be burnt or
fired. For the first twenty-four hours a very low heat is applied, in order to drive
• • 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
2 ] 2 Miscellaneous. [ A pril,
all the moisture out of the ware ; it is then exposed for twenty-four hours more to
a heat as high as it can bear without fusion, which has the effect of baking the
clay, of driving off the sulphur from the lead-ore, and of causing the oxide of lead
to form a frit or imperfect glass with the clay, the other ingredient of the glaze.
The fire is now fed with bavin-wood instead of coal, by which the heat is increased,
the furnace is filled with flame, and the frit being converted into a perfect glass,
flows uniformly over the surface of the ware. The fire is then allowed to go out,
and when the furnace has become cool, the contents are removed. If the air has
been still during the burning, and due care has been observed, the articles in every
part of the kiln will be properly baked; but a high wind always renders the heat
very unequal, so that the ware in the windward part of the kiln will not be baked
enough, while that in the leeward part will be over-burnt and ran to a slag.
"All articles of earthen-ware which after being baked are opaque, are more or lest
porous ; and if a heat somewhat approaching to their point of fusion, so as to ren-
der them slightly translucent, cannot safely be applied, it is evident that such ware
is not very proper for vessels employed in cookery, and for several other purposes,
from the difficulty of keeping them clean, and from their liability to crack when set
on the fire in a damp state. In England, we endeavour to obviate this imperfection
by means of a thick vitreous glaze ; but as the ware itself is very fusible, the glaze
must be still more so ; and as oxide of lead forms the cheapest and most fusible
glaze, this accordingly is the material universally employed by us. But there is s
very serious objection to the use of this glaze, namely, that it is soluble in vinegar,
in the juice of most fruits, especially when hot, and also in boiling fat ; the conse-
quence of which is, that the food of the lower classes, by whom alone cooking
vessels of glazed red-ware are employed, is often contaminated with lead, so as seri-
ously to impair their health by occasioning colics, and the other usual effects of lead
poison. Possibly borax, which is now a cheap article and is very fusible, might be
made to supersede the use of lead ; if not, the only way of avoiding this very seri-
ous hazard to health, will be the use of more refractory clay, which, consequently,
would allow the employment of a less fusible glaze free from lead. This has been
done by Mr. Meigh, a potter in Staffordshire, to whom the Society awarded a me-
dal for his invention ; the ware produced by him is far superior to that in common
use, and well deserves the encouragement of the public. A species of ware, some-
what superior to our common red -ware, is made at Lambeth, of Maidstone clay,
being of a paler colour and a more compact texture than the latter, but does not
take a uniform covering by the common glaze for red-ware ; it is therefore chiefly
used for purposes which admit its employment in an unglazed state, or in situations
where the imperfection of the glaze is not perceived, as in ornamented chimney-pots,
gas-consumers, &c.
" A more perfect, and indeed very excellent species of earthen-ware, is that catted
stone-ware, originally introduced from Holland, and now made in several parts of
the kingdom, and especially at Lambeth. To one of the principal manufacturers of
this ware, Mr. Wisker, I am indebted for the following particulars :
" The materials are, pipe-clay from Dorsetshire and Devonshire, calcined and
ground flint from Staffordshire, and sand from Woolwich and Charlton.
" The clay is pulverised and sifted dry, andjs either used alone, when an article of
great compactness is required, as soda-water bottles, or is mixed with sand to
diminish its contraction in the fire. For retorts and other large vessels, instead of
sand, the refuse stone- ware, ground to a fine powder, is used. For the finer arti-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.1 Miscellaneous. 213
des, such as figured jugs, ground flint is employed in place of sand. The com-
position is brought by the addition of water, to the state of mortar, and is then
tempered in the pug-mill. All round articles are made on the horizontal wheel ;
and those of great size, i. e. of a greater capacity than two gallons, are at first of
extraordinary thickness below to support the upper part ; when they come off the
wheel they are dried, and then put on the wheel again, and shaved down to a pro-
per thickness. For oral, and other figures not circular, as pans for salting hams
m, the day is formed in a mould to the required shape. The drying, especially of
large articles, must be very carefully performed ; and as, from custom, the tops or
bottoms of jars and various other vessels made of this ware, are required to be of
a deeper brown than the natural colour of the materials, they are dipped in a mix-
ture of red-ochre and clay slip. When perfectly dry they are piled in the furnace,
bits of well-sanded clay being put between each piece to prevent them from adher-
ing. A slow fire is kept up for twelve to twenty-four hours, according to the
thickness of the ware, capable of bringing it just to a low red heat. The fire is
then to be raised till the flame and the ware are of the same colour, and is so to
be continued for several hours. At this time the glaze is added, which is done
by pouring down the holes in the top of the kiln, twenty or thirty in number,
ladksful of common salt. This, being volatilized by the intense heat of the inte-
rior, attaches itself to the outer surface of the ware : here it is decomposed, the
muriatic acid flying off, and the soda remaining behind in union with the earth,
with which it forms a very thin, but, on the whole, a perfect glaze ; at least quite
famrient, with the compactness of the ware, to render it completely proof against
the percolation, not only of water, but of the strongest acids. So perfect, indeed,
is the texture of the best ware now made, that it has of late been very largely used
in the construction of distillatory vessels for manufacturing chemists, instead of
green glass, as being more durable and also cheaper. Pickling jars, and many
other vessels in which acid substances for food or condiment are kept, as also
those earthen vessels in which great strength is required, are best made of stone-
ware. Vauxhall is the chief seat of this manufacture. There are now about
eight houses engaged in this fabric, most of which are very actively employed, as
die use of it is considerably on the increase."
In the porcelain of China, so justly celebrated for its beauty and excellence, the
glaze is produced by a wash of clay of a kind more fusible than that of the body
of the ware.
Three materials are known to be employed in this manufacture. 1. Petumtie, which
is Quarried from certain rocks and contains shining particles : (mica ?) the lumps of
this day are broken up and ground in iron mortars, then lixiviated, and the creamy
matter only used. Mr. Aikin supposes it to be a compact felspar ; perhaps it may
be a decomposing granite, from which the felspar is thus coarsely separated. 2.
J T ao ft s, true porcelain clay, or decomposed felspar found in lumps in the clefts of
mountains, covered with a reddish earth (just as it occurs in India). It is prepared
for use like ihepettmMe. 3. HoacM, which has a soapy feel, and is either steatite
soapstone, or agalmatolite. It is also prepared in the same way, but is whiter, more
transparent, and is used only for the more expensive wares.
For the finest porcelain, four parts of homehi are added to one of petunia. Some-
times the body is made of Paulas, dipped when dry into the cream of kooehi, which
fires a white coat. Homehi is also laid on with a pencil on the parts intended to
tare an ivory-white colour.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
214 Miscellaneous. [Armix,
" The white semi-transparent glaze is thus prepared. The whitest petmnim wits
green spots is pulverized and washed over ; to 100 parts of the cream thus obtained
is added one part of che-kao (burnt alum) previously pulverized. A caustic ky it
also prepared into which che-kao is stirred, and the cream thus produced is collect-
ed. The two creams are mixed together in the proportion of ten measures of the
former to one of the latter, and this composition, washed over the dry unbaked
ware, gives it its whiteness and lustre. A brown glaze is made of common yellow
clay added to the above. The Chinese porcelain is never brought to the state of
biscuit, by a prior baking, before it is glazed.
" The flux used with colours laid on the glaze is made of one part calcined
quartz and two parts ceruse. Red is given by peroxide of iron, and a finer red
by copper, but the process is not known. The enamel colours are brought to a
proper consistence by a solution of glue, except those containing ceruse, which caa
only be tempered with water*."
3. — Phenomenon of the Japanese Mirror.
The Philosophical Magazine of Dec. 1832 contains Sir D. Brewster's explana-
tion of the magical effect of the mirror, of which a notice was published by myself
in vol. I. p. 242.
Sir David had only received a written description from Mr. G. S win ton, and
therefore it was hardly fair to expect him to give a categorical reply to that gen-
tleman's question, " how are these strange effects produced ?" After alluding
however to Mr. Sainton's conjecture that the phenomena may originate in a differ-
ence of density in different parts of the metal, occasioned by the stamping of the
figures on the back, which, if metals were absolutely opaque, and if the lights they
reflect never entered their substance, would,. he says, be the only possible way in
which the stamped figures could be reflected, — the learned Doctor proceeds to offer
his own theory.
"I believe, however, on the authority of the phenomena of elliptical polarization,
that in silver nearly one-half of the reflected light has entered the metal, and in
other metals a less portion. So that we may consider the surface of every metal
as transparent to a certain depth, a fact which is also proved by the transparency
of gold and silver leaf. Now this thin film having its parts of variable density, ia
consequence of the stamping of the figure, might reproduce the figure by reflection.
It is well known that silver polished by hammering acts differently upon light from
silver that has received a specular polish ; and I have elsewheref expressed the
opinion that a parabolic reflector of silvered copper, polished by hammering, will
from the difference of density of different parts of the reflecting film, produce at
ihe distance of many miles a perceptible scattering of the reflected rays, aimjfrr
to what takes place in a transparent fluid or solid, or gaseous medium. I am
satisfied, however, that at the distance of a few inches from the Chinese mirror,
this evanescent effect will be altogether imperceptible, and that we must seek for
another cause of the phenomenon under consideration.
" Some years ago I had occasion to observe the light of the sun reflected upon paper
from a new and highly polished gilt button, and I made a drawing at the time of the
figure, which appeared in the spectrum. It consisted of radiations exactly like the
spokes of a carriage wheel, the radiations being sixteen in number, and a little con-
fused in the centre opposite the eye of the button. On the back of this button several
words were deeply stamped, but these words did not appear in the reflected image.
* Trans. Soc. Arts and Repository of Inventions. +Bd. Trans. voL xL p. 47.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 215
I hare since examined several varieties of such button*, and I find that they almost
all give either radiations or great numbers of narrow conctntric rings, (and some*
times botb,) whose centre is the centre of the button, and the smallest one of which
is always like a dimple in the centre.
" Upon examining the surface of these buttons in the sun's light, and at the edge
of a shadow*, I have invariably been able to see the same rings excavated in the
polished face that appeared in the luminous image, which it reflected. They obvi-
ously arise from the button being finished in a turning lathe, and the rings are
produced by the action of the polishing powder, or probably in some cases they
may be the grooves of the turning tool, which have not been obliterated by the
subsequent processesf.
•* These facts will, I presume, furnish us with the secret of the Chinese mirror.
Like all other conjurors, the artist has contrived to make the observer deceive him-
self. The stamped figures on the back are used for this purpose. The spectrum in
the luminous area is not an image of the figures on the back. The figures are a
copy of the picture which the artist hat drawn on the face qf the mirror, and so
concealed by polishing that it is invisible in ordinary lights, aud can be brought out
only in the sun's rays.
■* Let it be required, for example, to produce the dragon described by Mr. Swinton
as exhibited on one of these Chinese mirrors. When the surface of the mirror is
ready for polishing, the figure of the dragon may be delineated upon it in extremely
shallow lines, or it may be eaten out by an acid much diluted, so as to remove the
smallest possible portion of the metal.
" The surface must then be highly polished, not upon pitch, like glass and specula,
because this would polish away the figure, but upon cloth, in the way that lenses
are sometimes polished. In this way the sunk part of the hollow lines will be as
highlv polished as the rest, and the figure will only be visible in very strong lights,
by reflecting the sun's rays from the metallic surface. When the space occupied by
the figure is covered by lines or by etching, the figure will appear in shade on the
wall, and vice versa." '
In spite of the overwhelming authority opposed to me, I feel reluctant to give up
the theory I ventured to advance, in explanation of the anomaly in question, and I
am emboldened to maintain it by the simple fact, that Sir David had not yet seen the
mirror : indeed in this respect we stand an equal ground ; — the mirror was gone from
Calcutta before I had attempted to solve its nature : it had not arrived when Dr.
Brewster offered his ingenious theory. The best arguments which I can advance in
favor of my own are — 1, that the mirror underwent several rude processes of polish-
ing in Calcutta, so much so, that most of its silvered turf ace was worn off, and yet
its reflective faculties were unimpaired. 2, no signs of engraving were observed on
the surface, under the strongest horizontally reflected light, which ought to have
shewn its presence as explained, by Sir David.
Dr. Brewster's theory cannot fail however to win converts : it would be pre-
sumption in me to go farther in opposing it, than to request a suspension of judg-
ment until the mirror shall have arrived in England ; meanwhile its magical powers
most continue, as he says, " to perplex the philosophers of our eastern metropolis !"
* " By this method the figure in the Chinese mirror could be rendered visible beneath
Us polish: 1
-J- M In polished steel bnttonstbe reflected light is crowded with lines running at right
angles, indicating the cross strokes by which they have been ground and polished."
Digiti
zed by G00gle
216
Meteorological Register.
[April 1833.1
•SlIUMAJl
z
.-:
f.
6
h
«3
5 1
ji
I 1
I
15
la
I*
is
*9uiuiojv
■Suiurvy
*3umxoK
CM). <3
£* 3 ^ U § C E * '5 - • 3 • •
Jooo^Js^eioci 80 a. 5 fc -£3byboooco«*so"s'
^-B-e-a pSa^ S-s-o e«^ . - g § ■ g-OTS-c-s-a^ 14 ?
** * = F • 4
^Okt.jsooo wb c"30be"o*-b03
>-b ooooooec
g S'O-S'O'a-O'O'C —
.J £ 3 j 3 S
■d --as o S * b I b P-s = C J I !
X X X X X ■ X « Ji * CO X , ^ . ■JtO*™/^ K« J xKi! M ■
9 C co • •
•i 4 x x x ■• x 6 «; x ■ x x * « c « « x x x 6 . £ <t , J x * ^ ^
■*■*»»¥ R&»3&8sR£8338&8SS8*38RSMS3833 a?*"*?
_ g li
c e a '-
fill
6 11?
f K|
8 Mil
8 Hi|
Sg8SSS8 = Si?.?.3fSS3fSs??53fS3f«gsS53
?! i^ ; « f f: x s ; rs ; : i x « : » e - : >x t ; n x f ic c s an tt
M5 *5 t^O l^'-S ZXlCJCCXC-OXiOiflCC'CkltC^f^^M
M-W-NRifttl
r^r^r: ©«»
d onv ggil'ssgggH'gsi^
Aq -x« N sS88§8ss&8^8Sl5aassiala<§§Ssass8Ss &»-§-
_. — . * C ^i
■■■Tonv s883S&&a&S?S&SSSi8"38S8SSlSSSsSs33 &*f|f
•k -d ni w
ill?
|^|||IS|^i?PS18Si.^liyiR II Slri
K-T5JV
*qiuotu
am jo x«(i
g§j.p;&iiiSH:asrJ§^ip.iiiii§S3|
|ISgBg8|8B8iUSSI§BRSS£SSgSaga3UE
^t5^.g|p.a|p.!§IS§3l5g§§Ii|
-«o-r«<et»o!a £ = 2aZ2SGS385;?iaSSSSr8aii
I
8l|£
Is?
il2s
I ;|.
1 1 1 -.
Digitized by
Google
JO DRNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 17.— May, 1833.
I— Origin and Classification of the Military Tribes of Ntpal. By B. H.
Hodgson, Esq. . •
CRad at the Meeting of the 9th January, 1883.] K r
Thb great aboriginal stock of the inhabitants of these mountains,
cast of the river Kdli, or in Nfydl, is Mongol. The fact is inscribed,
ra characters so plain, upon their faces, forms, and languages, that we
may well dispense with the superfluous and vain attempt to trace it
historically in the meagre chronicles of barbarians.
But from the 1 2th century downwards, the tide of Mussulman con-
quest and bigotry continued to sweep multitudes of the Brahmans of
the plains from Hindustan into the proximate hills, which now com-
pose the western territories of the kingdom of Ntpdl. There the
Brahmans soon located themselves. They found the natives illiterate,
and without faith, but fierce and proud.
Their object was to make them converts to Hinduism, and so to
confirm the fleeting influence derived from their learning and politeness.
They saw that the barbarians had vacant minds, ready to receive their
doctrines, but spirits not apt to stoop to degradation ; and they acted
accordingly. To the earliest and most distinguished of their converts they
communicated, in defiance of the creed they taught, the lofty rank and
honors of the Kshatriya order. But the Brahmans had sensual passions
to gratify, as well as ambition. They found the native females — even
the most distinguished — nothing loath ; but still of a temper, like that
of the males, prompt to repel indignities. These females would, in-
deed, welcome the polished Brahmans to their embraces : but their
ofepring must not be stigmatised as the infamous progeny of a
Brahman and a MUchha— must, on the contrary, be raised to eminence
9 V
Digitized by
Google
218 Origin and Classification of the [Mat,
in the new order of things introduced by their fathers. To this pro-
geny also, then, the Brahmans, in still greater defiance of their creed,
communicated the rank of the second order of Hinduism ; and from
these two roots, mainly, sprung the now numerous, predominant, and
extensively ramified, tribe of the Khds— originally the name of a
small clan of creedless barbarians* now the proud title of the Ksha-
triya, or military order of the kingdom of Nfydl. The offspring of
original Khds females and of Brahman* > with the honors and rank of the
second order of Hinduism, got the patronymic titles of the first order ;
and hence the key to the anomalous nomenclature of so many stirpes
of the military tribes of Nepdl is to be sought in the nomenclature of
the sacred order. It may be added, as remarkably illustrative of the
lofty spirit of the Parbattiahs, that, in spite of the yearly increasing
sway of Hinduism in Nfydl, and of the various attempts of the Brah-
man* in high office, to procure the abolition of a custom so radically
opposed to the creed both parties now profess, the Khds still insist
that the fruit of commerce (marriage is out of the question) between
their females antf males of the sacred order shall be ranked as Ksha-
triyas, wear the thread, and assume the patronymic title.
The original Khds, thus favored by it, became soon and entirely de-
voted to the Brahmanical system*. The progress of Isldm below daily
poured fresh refugees among them.
They availed themselves of the superior knowledge of the strangers
to subdue the neighbouring tribes of aborigines, were successful beyond
their hopes, and, in such a career continued for ages, gradually merged
the greater part of their own habits, ideas, and language (but not phy-
siognomy) in those of the Hindus.
The Khds language became a corrupt dialect of Hindi, retaining not
many palpable traces (except to curious eyes) of primitive barbarism.
The Ekthariahs are the descendants more or less pure of Rdfomts
and other Kshatriyas of the plains, who sought refuge in these moun-
tains from the Moslem, or, merely military service as adventurers.
'With fewer aims of policy and readier means in their bright swords of
requiting the protection afforded them than had the Brahmans, they
• That is, they agreed to put away their old gods, and to take the new ; to hare
Brahma** for G6rfo ; and not to kill the cow : for the rest, they made and Hill
make sufficiently lightly of the ceremonial law in whatever respects food and sexu-
al gratification. Their active habits and rigorous character could not brook the
restraints of the ritual law ; and they had the example of licentious Brmkmmm to
warrant their neglect of it. The few prejudices of the Khds are uaefial rather
than otherwise, inasmuch as they favour sobriety and cleanliness.
Digitized by
Google
refc.] ifUxtary Tribes of Ntpti. 2f&
bad less motive to mix their proud blood with that of the vile abori-
gines than the Brahman* felt the impulse of, and they did mix it less.
Hence, to this hour, they claim a vague superiority over the Khds,
notwithstanding that the pressure of the great tide of events around
them has, long since, confounded the two races in all essentials. Those
among the Kshatrigas of the plains, who were more lax, and allied
themselves with the Khds females in concubinage, were permitted to
give to their children, so begotten, the patronymic title only, not the
rink. But their children again, if they married for two generations
into the Khds, became pure Khds, or, real Kshatrigas in point of pri-
vilege and rank, though no longer so in name ! They were Khds, not
Kshatrigas : and yet they bore the proud cognomina of the martial
order of the Hindus, and were, in the land of their nativity, entitled
to every prerogative which Kskatriya birth confers in Hindustan !
Such is the third and less fruitful root of the Khds race.
The Ekthariahs speak the Khds language, and they speak no other.
The Thdkuris differ from the Ekthariahs only by the accidental
circumstance of their lineage being royal. At some former period, and
in some little state or other, their progenitors were princes.
The 8aM are the present royal family.
The remaining military tribes of the Parbattiahs are the Magar
and Gtr&ng, who now supply the greater numbers of the soldiers of
this state.
From lending themselves less early and heartily to Brahmanical
influence than the Khds they have retained, in vivid freshness, their
original languages, physiognomy, and, in a less degree, habits.
To their own untaught ears their languages differ entirely the one
from the other, but, in very truth, only as remote dialects of one great
tongue, the type of which is the language of Tibet. Their physiogno-
mies, too, have peculiarities proper to each, but with the general Cal-
mtk caste and character in both. The G&rtings are less generally and
more recently redeemed from Ldmdism and primitive impurity than the
Jf*trt.
Bat, though both Gurdngs and Magars still maintain their own
vernacular tongues, Tartar faces, and careless manners, yet, what with
military service for several generations, under the predominant Khds,
and what with the commerce of Khds males with their females*, they
* Here, as in the cases of the Brahma* and Khds, and Kthatriya and KM*, there
<*■ he bo marriage. The offspring of a Khdt with a Magarin or Q4rtngni is a
tifcav KhAs and real Magar or Qtrting. The descendants fall into the rank of
tseir mothers, and retain only the patronymic.
f f 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
?90 OrUfit *nd Clauifcetbn of the [Mat,
have acquired the Khd* language, though not to the oblivion of their
own ; and the Khd* habits and sentiments, but with sundry reserva-
tions in favor of pristine liberty. As they have, however, with such
• grace as they could muster, submitted themselves to the ceremonial
law of purity, and to Brahman supremacy, they have been adopted ai
Hindu*. But partly owing to the licenses above glanced at, and
partly by reason of the necessity of distinctions of caste to Hind&mm,
they have been denied the thread, and constituted a doubtful order
below it, and yet not Vai*ya nor Sudra, but a something superior to
both the latter, what, I fancy, it might puzzle the 8hd*tr(* to explain
on HindU principles.
The Brahman* of Nfydl are much less generally addicted to aims
than those of the plains ; and they do not therefore properly belong to
our present subject. The enumeration of the Brahman* ia neverthe-
less necessary, as serving to elucidate the lineage and connexions of the
military tribes, and especially of the Khds.
The martial classes of Nfydl are, then, the Khds, Mayor, and
GurUng; each comprising a very numerous clan or race, variously rami-
fied and subdivided in the manner exhibited in the following tabular
statement.
The original seat of the Khd* is ordinarily said to be Gorkkd, be-
cause it was thence immediately that they issued, 70 years ago, under
the guidance of Pxithvi Naratan, to acquire the fame and dominion
achieved by him and his successors of the Gorkhdli dynasty.
But the Khd* were long previously to the age of Pbithvi Najiatan
extensively spread over the whole of the Choubisya ; and they are now
found in every part of the existing kingdom of Nfyal. The Khd* are
rather more devoted to the house of Qorkhd, as well as more liable to
Brahmanical prejudices than the Magars or G6r4*gs ; and, on both
accounts, are somewhat less desirable as soldiers for our service than
the latter tribes. I say somewhat, because it is a mere question of
degree ; the Khd* having, certainly, no religious prejudices, nor pro-
bably any national partialities, which would prevent their making
excellent and faithful servants in arms ; and they possess pre-eminent-
ly that masculine energy of character and love of enterprise which
distinguish so advantageously all the military races of Nfydl. The
original seat of the Magar* is the Bdra Mangrdnth, or Satahmg.
Payung, Bhirkot, Dhor, Garahung, Rising, Ghiring. Guhni, Argot,
Khachi, Musikot, and I*ma ; in other words, most of the central and
lower parts of the mountains between the Bhdri and Mar*ydnd£* riven.
• The Mariehtmgdi of our map*
zed by G00gle
!».] MiiUwyTribti tfNQat. %&
The attachment of tht Magars to the house of Gorkkd is bat recent,
and of no extraordinary or intimate nature. Still less so ia that of
the Gwrtngs, whose native seats occupy a line of country parallel to
that of the Magars, to the north of it, and extending to the snows in
tint direction. Modern events have spread the Magars and Gur&ngs
orer most part of the present kingdom of Nejnil. The Gurdngs and
Magars are, in the main, Hindus, only because it is the fashion ; and
the Hmd&sm of the Khis, in all practical and soldierly respects, is
free of disqualifying punctilio.
These highland soldiers, who despatch their meal in half an hour, and
satisfy the ceremonial law by merely washing their hands and face, and
taking off their turbans before cooking, laugh at the pharisaical rigor
of our sipdkis, who must bathe from head to foot, and make puja,
ere they begin to dress their dinner, must eat nearly naked in the
coldest weather, and cannot be in marching trim again in less than
three hours.
Ia war, the former readily carry several days provisions on their
backs : the latter would deem such an act intolerably degrading. The
former see in foreign service nothing but the prospect of glory and
spoil: the latter can discover in it nothing but pollution and peril
from unclean men and terrible wizards, goblins, and evil spirits.. In
mseces, the former have all that indomitable confidence, each in all,
which grows out of national integrity and success : the latter can have
no idea of this sentiment, which maintains the union and resolution of
multitudes in peril, better than all other human bonds whatever.
I calculate that there are at this time in Nipal no less than 30,000
Dakhriahs, or soldiers off the roll by rotation, belonging to the above
three tribes. I am not sure that there exists any insuperable obstacle
to our obtaining, in one form or other, the services of a large body of
these men ; and such are their energy of character, love of enterprise
and freedom from the shackles of caste, that I am well assured their
•ervices, if obtained, would soon come to be most highly prized.
In my humble opinion they are by far the best soldiers in India;
and if they were made participators of our renown in arms, I conceive
that their gallant spirit and unadulterated military habits might be
relied on for fidelity ; and that our good and regular pay and noble
pension establishment would serve to counterpoise the influence of
nationality, especially in the Magars and Gurdngs.
The following table exhibits a classified view of the BrahmanicaJ and
Military tribes, with their various subdivisions.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Ony*» tmd Chatifietiiom of the
t»«;
Tabular View of the Tribes.
Brahmans.
AijAL
JUpAkheti.
OitL
DhorAri.
PondyAL
KhatiyAra.
Utkulli.
BbartyA).
KhanAl.
DhakAl.
Kandariah.
PanAnl.
RAgmi.
AdhikAri.
Chart m*L
LoityAl.
BhattrAL
Deoja.
OhartyAl.
SigdhyAL
NirAla.
RnkAi.
NivapAnya.
BarAL
AchArya,
SywAl,
TemrAkoti.
Gotamya.
Bhatt
R|jAl.
UphaltopL
Ghora aaini.
SApankotya.
DhiingyAl.
Parijai Kavala.
Risyal.
MaharAahtra.
LoiyAU
Homya OAi.
ChAltaya.
KtiraJa.
DotiyAl.
Champa GAi,
DhdngAna.
PakonyAl,
KandyAI.
Gura GAL
BbarAri.
SattyAl.
KatyAl.
SabAri.
BAgalya.
DohAl.
DangAl.
Pandit
DalAL
LamaAI.
SingyAL
TAva pAnya.
ParajolL
RimAI.
BikrAl.
Timil Sina.
BajgAL
DAvakotya.
UkniyAl.
KAphalya.
Satola.
Parbatya Vash.
BhatlwAl.
Gaithonla.
GhorchoIL
Parbatya Miar.
OajniyAl.
Gairaha Pipli.
Kelathoni.
DavAri.
Cbavala OAi.
Ghimirya.
GilaL
KoikyAl
Vaata OAi.
SimkhAra,
Labdni.
NepAlya.
BanjAra.
PhunwAl.
Muthbari.
BarAl.
DAgi.
Chamka aaini.
PokaryAl
SAti.
Pdra aaini.
Khas.
1st Subdivision of the KAds, called Thdpa.
BigyAI.
GAgliyA.
PowAr.
Khapotari.
TakaryAI.
SuyAl.
Ghimirya.
FarAjulL
PalAmL
Mahar&ji.
Khnlal.
Deoja.
GAdAr.
LAmichaoya.
SanyAl.
2nd Subdivision of the KAds, callsd Biehnudt.
JLhulAl.
fChapatari.
SripAli.
PawAr.
3rd. Subdivision, called Bhanddri.
Raghobanai.
LAma.
Sijapati.
4th, Subdivision, called Kdrhi.
SatAr.
LAma.
Muodala.
KbAlAl.
5th, Subdivision, called Khanghd.
PowAr.
MaharAji.
PartyAl.
Khapotari.
LakAnggi.
LAmichanya.
Khulal.
PalpAll
KAlikotya.
6th. Subdivision, or Adhikari.
ThAmi.
TbarirAi.
PokriyAI.
Moiiab.
DhAmi.
KhadhsAna.
ThAkuri.
7th.
Subdivision, or Biskt.
Kalikotya.
PawAr.
8/A.
Subdivision, or Kunwdr.
BagAlya.
KhuUI.
Khaogka.
ArjAl.
DM.
Subdivision, or Bdniah.
fluapati.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
l*S»J
MHUary Tribe* of N4pdl.
99i
Sijapati.
Kaiikotya.
PAnde.
Tewiri.
Paoth.
AdhikAri
Dhongyal.
LoyaL
Lamsal.
KhnkriyAI,
Dangal.
SikhmiyaL
BhiryAL
Pooryal
Bikral.
KanhiL
Batyal.
GanjtX
Bdrathoki
RAya.
Ravat
KatwAl
KhatL
Maghati.
8Ahi.
Malta.
Sena.
BhasAl.
AalAoii.
YahAyo.
Sard.
Arghonnle.
GrAnjA.
NamjAli.
Darrlami.
MarayAngdi.
GelAng.
Yaogui.
SaryaVaaaL
Khali
10/A. Subdivision, or DdnL
Powar.
1 1 / h . Subdivision, or GArf rl*.
Sijapati.
12/A. Subdivision, or Khattri.
Khulal. LAmichAnya. ArjAL
Snv£ri. DhakAl. SApkotya.
PoryAl. PbanyAl.
SakhtyAl. Bural.
7Vu€ Khasnot yet classified,
Sijal. Satouya. Rapakh£ti.
Chonvala GAL Parsai. Kbatiwata.
Am Gai. Chalatani. Bbatt RAi.
Baj GAL Kilathoni. NeopAnya.
Satya GAL Mori Bhus. DahAl.
Devakota. AlphAltopi. S6tL
Garhtdla. ParijAi Kawala. OstL
Sedra . Bamankotya. Bhatt Qjha.
Balya. TewAri. Kadariak.
Gilal. Porseni. Kala Khattri.
Cbonial. Homya Gai. DhungAna,
Regmi. Tiimrakot PungyAl.
Ektharya, or insulated tribes ranking with Khds.
Chohan. fiobara. KutAL
Boghati. Chiloti. Dikshit
Khatit DAngi. Pandit
SAvan. Raima njhi. Parsai.
MahaL Bhakhandi. ChokhAl.
BarwAl. BhasAl. Chohara.
Dorrah.
Tbakuri, or Royal lineages, ranking with Khds.
Singh. Chand. Jiva.
Mann. HamAl. Rakhsya.
Chokan. Ruchal.
Maoars.
I.— Subdivision of the Mayors, called Rand.
Gyangmi. ByAngnAsu KyApchAki.
PolAmi. PhyuyAli. Dorra Lami
Gacha. LAmichAnya. MaskL
PnsAl. Gandharma. Cbarni.
ThAda. Dtktt
II.— Subdivision of Ma gars, called Thdpa.
Chumi. Keli. Bareya.
LAngAli. Jhangdi. Maaki.
Sanari. YAngdL PhyuyalL
Chitooriah. Jhari. Argboonle.
Sinjali. Saru. RyaL
lll.Subdivision of Magars, called Alay a.
SarAagL Pong. LamjaL
Gdnda. Sripali. SAyAl.
DukhbhAki. Syapatt. Panthi.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
994
Description of Bokhara.
[Mat,
TfeokchAki
ftftQ*
GbartL
RakbAL
SithAng.
Maiki.
LAmichAnya.
Palami.
LahakpA.
ArghoonlA.
Kbaptari.
PhyftyAli.
KyapchAki.
DArrA.
KhoUL
Chermi.
PachAin.
GUEUNG8.
GfarAng.
LAmichAnya.
KhapCari.
Tang*.
GhalM.
Siddh.
GhAndAnt.
GhAnyA.
ByApri.
KarAmatL
DhArAn.
Paindi.
Vomjan.
GAsti.
JimAl.
MAngi.
Lima.
BagAlya.
LopAt*.
Dab LAma.
ThAthAog.
Chandtt.
LothAng.
KorAngi.
OAthi.
ChArki.
BAIAog.
Khnlal.
GondAk.
KhAti.
8hakya LAma.
Sarya Vanai Lane
Oohori.
OuAbari.
GolAngya.
MadAn.
BarAhi.
Peagi.
Khaogva*
Pal Ami.
GhArti.
DhakarAn.
II. — Description of Bokhdra. By Lieut. A. Barnes, Bombay Army, Asst.
Resident at Kutch. ^'*
Our first care on entering Bokhdra was to change our garb, and
adopt the usages prescribed by the laws of the country. A peti-
tion to the minister might have perhaps relieved us of the necessity,
but to do so was in consonance with our own plans, and we did not
delay a moment in fulfilling them. Our turbans were exchanged for
shabby sheep-skin caps with the fur inside, and our kamarbamds were
thrown aside for a rude piece of rope or tape. The outer garment of
the country was discontinued, as well as our stockings, since these are
the emblems of distinction in the holy city of Bokhara between an in*
fidel and a true believer. We know also that none but a Mohammedan
might ride within the walls of the city, and we had an inward feeling
which told us to be heartily gratified if we were permitted, at such
trifling sacrifices, to continue our abode in the capital. A couplet* which
describes Samarcand as the paradise of the world, also names Bokhara
as the strength of religion and of Islam ; and impious and powerless as
we were, we could have no desire to try experiments among those who
seemed, outwardly, at least, such bigots. The dress which I have de-
scribed is nowhere enjoined by the Qordn, nor did it obtain in these
countries for two centuries after the prophet ; not till the bigotry of
^) \^)j J*H> aiS,***
'c/* 1 * ) f**' oy IjUfrf
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] City— Gosh Bkgi. 225
some of the Khaliphs discovered that the faithful should be distinguished
from those who were not Muhammedans.
On entering the city, the authorities did not even search us, but in
the afternoon an officer summoned us to the presence of the minister.
My fellow-traveller was yet prostrated by fever, and could not accom-
pany me ; I therefore proceeded alone to the ark or palace where the
minister lived along with the king. I was lost in amazement at the
novel scene before me, since we had to walk for about two miles through
the streets of Bokhara before reaching the palace. I was immediately
introduced to the minister, or as he is styled, the Gosh Bbg(, an
elderly man, of great influence, who was sitting in a small room, with a
private court-yard in front of it. He desired me to be seated outside
on the pavement, bnt evinced both a kind and considerate manner, which
set my mind at ease. The hardness of my seat, and the distance from
the minister, did not overpower me with grief, since his son, who ap-
peared during the interview, was even further removed than myself. I
presented a silver watch and a Kashmir dress, which I had brought for
him ; bnt he declined to receive anything, saying that he was but the
dave of the king. He then interrogated me for about two hours, re-
garding my own affairs and the objects which had brought me to a
country so remote as Bokhara. I told the usual tale of being in pro-
gress towards our native country, and produced my passport from the
Governor General of India, which the minister read with peculiar atten-
tion. I then added, that Bokhdra was a country of such celebrity among
eastern nations, that I had been chiefly induced to visit Twrkistdn for
the purpose of seeing it. But what is your profession, said the minis-
ter? I replied that I was an officer of the Indian army. But tell me,
said he, something about your knowledge : — and he here entered upon
various topics as to the customs and politics of Europe, but parti-
cularly of Russia, on which he was well informed. In reply to his
inquiries regarding our baggage, I considered it prudent to acquaint
him that I had a sextant, since I concluded that we should be searched,
and it was better to make a merit of necessity. I informed him therefore
that I liked to observe the stars, and the other heavenly bodies, since it
was a most attractive study. On hearing this, the vizier's attention was
roused, and he begged, with some earnestness, and in a subdued tone of'
voice, that I would inform him of a favorable conjunction of the planets,
and the price of grain which it indicated in the ensuing year. I told him,
that our astronomical knowledge did not lead to such information ; at
which he expressed himself disappointed. On the whole, however, he
appeared Id be satisfied of my character, and assured me of protec-
G O
Digiti
zed by G00gle
226 Description of Bokhara. [Mir,
tion while in Bokhara ; he however prohibited our using pen and ink,
since it might lead to our conduct being misrepresented to the king,
and prove injurious, lie also added, that the route to the Caspian Sea
by the way of Khiva had been closed for the last year ; and that, if we
intended to enter Russia, we must either pursue the northern route
from Bokhara, or cross the Turkman desert below Organ} to Astru-
bdd on the Caspian.
Two days after this interview, I was again summoned by the vizier,
and found him surrounded by a great number of respectable persons, to
whom he appeared desirous of exhibiting me. I was questioned in
such a way as to make me believe that our character was not altoge-
ther free from suspicion ; but the vizier said jestingly, I suppose you
have been writing about Bokhara. Since I had in the first instance
given so true a tale, I had here no apprehensions of contradiction, and
freely told the party that I had come to see the world, and the wonders
of Bokhara, and that by the vizier's favor, I had been already perambu-
lating the city. The minister was the only person who appeared
pleased with the candour, and said that he would be happy to see me at
all times in the evening : he inquired if I had any curiosity to exhibit
to him, either of India or my own country ; but I regretted my inabi-
lity to meet his wishes. On my return home, it occurred to me
that the all-curious vizier might be gratified by the sight of a patent
compass, with its glasses, screws, and reflectors; but I also feared that
he might construe my possession of this complicated piece of mechanism
into a light which would not be favorable. I however sallied forth with
the instrument in my pocket, and soon found myself in the presence of
the vizier. I told him that I believed I had found a curiosity that
Would gratify him, and produced the compass, which was quite new and
of very beautiful workmanship. I described its utility, and pointed oat
its beauty, till the vizier seemed quite to have forgotten, " that he was
but a slave of the king, and could receive nothing;" indeed he was pro-
ceeding to bargain for its price, when I interrupted him. I assured
him that I had brought it from Hindustan, that I might purposely
present it to him ; since I had heard of his zeal in the cause of religion,
and it would enable him to point to the holy Mecca, and rectify the
Kibla of the grand mosque, which he was now building in Bokhara*
I told him, that I could receive no reward, since we were already re-
warded, above all price, by his protection. The Gosh Bfyi packed
up the compass with all the haste and anxiety of a child, and said that
he would take it direct to his Majesty, and describe the wonderful inge-
nuity of our nation. Thus fell one of my compasses. It was a fine
Digiti
zed by G00gle
IS33-3 Higistan or great Bazar. 227
instrument, by Schmalcalder, bat I had a duplicate, and I think it was
not sacrificed without an ample return. Had we been in Bokhara in
disguise, and personating some assumed character, our feelings would
have been very different from what they now were. Like owls, we
should only have appeared at night ; but after this incident, we stalked
abroad in the noon-tide sun, and visited all parts of the city.
My usual resort in the evening was the W gist an of Bokhara, which
h the name given to a spacious area of the city near the palace, that
opens upon it. In two other sides there are massive buildings, col-
leges of the learned ; and on the fourth stands a fountain filled with water,
and shaded by lofty trees, where idlers and newsmongers congregrate
around the wares of Asia and Europe, which are here exposed for sale.
A stranger has only to seat himself on a bench of the Rtgistan, to know
the Uzbeks and the people of Bokhara. He may here converse with the
natives of Persia, Turkey, Russia, Tartary, China, India, and Kabul.
He will meet with T&rhndns, Calmuks, and Kuzzaks, from the sur-
rounding deserts, as well as the natives of the more favoured lands.
He may contrast the polished manners of the subjects " of the great
King" with the ruder habits of a roaming Tartar. He may see the
fofcte from all the states of Mdwarulnahr, and speculate from their
physiognomy en the changes which time and place effect among any
race of men. The Uzbek of Bokhara is hardly to be recognized as a
Turk or Tartar, from his intermixture of Persian blood. Those from
the neighbouring country of Kokan are less changed, and the natives
of Organ}, the ancient Kharasm, have yet a harshness of feature pecu-
liar to themselves; they may be distinguished from aH others by dark
sheep-skin caps, about a foot high. A red beard, grey eyes, and fair
skin will now and then arrest the notice of a stranger, and his attention
will have been fixed on a poor Russian, who has lost his country and
his liberty, and here drags out a miserable life of slavery, A native of
the Celestial Empire wiU be seen here and there in the same forlorn
predicament, shorn of his long cue of hair, with his crown under a tur-
ton, since both he and the Russian act the part of Muhammedans.
Then follows a Hindu, in a garb foreign to himself and his country :
a small square cap, and a string, instead of a girdle, distinguishes him
from the Muhammedans, and, as the Moslems themselves tell you,
prevents their profaning the prescribed salutations of their language,
°7 using them to an idolator. Without these distinctions, the native
of India is to be recognized by his sombre look, and the studious man-
ner m which he avoids all communication with the crowd. He herds
°®J with a few individuals, similarly circumstanced with himself. The
G G 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
228 Description of Bokhdra. [May,
Jew is as marked a being as the HindC ; his costume differs from
the follower of Brahma, and a small conical cap marks the children of
Israel. No mark however is so distinguishing as the well known
features of the Hebrew people. In Bokhara they are a race remark-
ably handsome, and I saw more than one Rebecca in my peregrinations.
Their features are set off by ringlets of beautiful hair, which hang over
their cheeks and necks. There are about 4000 Jews in Bokhara, origi-
nally from Meshid in Persia. They are chiefly employed in dyeing
cloth. They receive the same treatment as the HindCs. A strayed
Armenian, in a still different dress, represents that wandering nation ;
but there are few of them in Bokhara, With these exceptions, the
stranger beholds in the bazars a portly, fair, and well-dressed mass of
people, the Muhammedans of Tdrkistdn. A large white turban, and a
chogha or pelisse of some dark colour over three or four other of the
same description is the general costume ; but the Rfyistan leads to the
palace, and the Uzbeks delight to appear before their King in a mottled
garment of silk, called " adras," which is of all and the brightest
colours, and would be intolerable to any but an Uzbek. Some of the
higher persons are clothed in brocade, and one may distinguish the
gradations of the chiefs, since those in favour ride into the citadel, and
the others dismount at the gate. Almost every individual who visits
the King is attended by his slave ; and though this class of people are
for the most part Persians, or their descendants, they have a peculiar
appearance. It is said, indeed, that three«fourths of the people of Bo-
khara are of slave extraction, for of the captives brought from Persia,
into Turkistdn, few are permitted to return, and, by all accounts, there
are many who have no inclination to do so. A great portion of the
people of Bokhdra appear on horseback. Whether mounted or on foot,
they are dressed in boots, and the pedestrians strut on high and small
heels on which it would puzzle a Corinthian to walk or even stand.
They rise about an inch and a half, and the pinnacle is not one-third the
diameter. This is the national dress of the Uzbek, Some men of rank
have a shoe over the boot, which is taken off on entering a room. I
must not forget the ladies in my enumeration of the inhabitants.
They generally appear on horseback, riding as the men ; a few walk, and
all are veiled with a black hair-cloth napkin. The difficulty of seeing
through it makes the fair ones stare at every one as in a masquerade.
There however no one must speak to them, and. if any of the King's
harem pass, you are admonished to look in another direction, and get
a punch on the head if you infringe the advice. So holy are the fair
ones of the holy Bokhdra.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Ihtlt— Tea— Ice— -Shops. 229
My reader will have now "become familiar with the appearance of the
inhabitants of Bokhara. From morn to night, the crowd which assem-
bles raises a hamming noise, and one is stunned at the moving mass of
human beings. In the middle of the area, the fruits of the season are
sold under the shade of a square piece of mat, supported by a single pole.
One wonders at the never-ending employment of the fruiterers in dealing
oat their grapes, melons, apricots, apples, peaches, pears, and plums ;
for the continued succession of purchasers proves that the tide of men
still flows. With difficulty a passage can be forced through the
streets, and it is only done at the momentary risk of being run over by
some one on the back of a horse or an ass. These latter anima ls are
exceedingly common and very fine, they amble along at a quick pace with
their riders and burthens. Carts of a light construction are also driving
op and down, since the nature of the country, and the streets which are
not too narrow, admit of wheeled carriages in all parts of the bazar.
Everywhere are seen people making tea, which is done in large European
urns instead of tea-pots, and kept hot by a metal tube. The pen-
chant of the BokharU for tea is, I believe, without parallel ; for they
drink it at all times and places, and in half a dozen ways, with and
without sugar, with and without milk, with grease, with salt, &c.
Next to the venders of this hot beverage, one may purchase " rahet-i
jan," or the delight of life, grape jelly or syrup mixed up with chopped
ice. The abundance of ice is one of the greatest luxuries in Bokhara,
and it may be had till the cold weather makes it unnecessary. It is pitted
in winter, and sold so cheap that it is within the reach of the poorest
people. No one ever thinks of drinking water without icing it, and a
beggar may be seen purchasing it as he proclaims his poverty and entreats
the bounty of the passenger. It is a nice and refreshing sight to see
the huge masses of it with the thermometer at 90°, coloured, scraped,
and piled into heaps like snow to tickle the Uzbeks palate. It would
be endless to describe the whole body of traders : suffice it to say, that
almost every thing may be purchased in the Rtgistan ; the jewellery
and cutlery of Europe (coarse enough however), the tea of China, the
sogar of India, the spices of Manilla, &c. &c. One may also add to
ais stores of learning, both Turki and Persian, at the book-stalls,
where the learned or would-be-so pore over tattered pages at a
hawker's board. As one withdraws in the evening from this bustling
crowd to the more retired parts of the city, he treads his way through
arched bazars, now empty, and passes mosques surmounted by hand-
some cupolas, and adorned by all the simple ornaments which are ad*
mitted by Mohammedans. After the bazar hours, these are crowded
Digiti
zed by G00gle
230 Description of Bokhara. [Mat,
for evening prayers. At the doors of the colleges, which generally
face the mosques, one may see the students lounging after the labours
of the day, not however so gay or so young as the tyros of an European
-university, but many of them grave and demure old men, with more
hypocrisy, but by no means less vice, than their youthful prototypes
in another quarter of the world. These people however are stained by
vices which there find no shelter even among the most depraved liber-
tines. With the twilight this busy scene closes, the King's drum beats,
it is re-echoed by others in every part of the city, and at a certain
hour no one is permitted to move out without a lantern. From these
arrangements, the police of the city is excellent, and in every street
large bales of cloth are left on the stalls at night in perfect safety. All
is silence till the morn, when the bustle again commences in the R&jis-
tan, the busy hive of men. The day is ushered in with the same guz-
zling and tea-drinking, and hundreds of boys and donkeys laden with
milk hasten to the busy throng. The milk is sold in small bowls, over
which the cream floats : a lad will bring twenty or thirty of these to
market, in shelves supported and suspended by a stick over his shoul-
der. Whatever number may be brought, speedily disappear among
the tea-drinking population of this great city.
Soon after our arrival, I paid a visit to our late travelling com-
panions, the tea merchants, who had taken up their abode in a
caravansery, and were busy in unpacking, appraising, and selling
their tea. They sent to the bazar for ice and apricots, which we
sat down and enjoyed together. One of the purchasers took me for
a tea merchant from the society I was in, and asked for my invest-
ment. The request afforded both the merchants and myself some
amusement, but they did not undeceive the man on my mercantile
character, and we continued to converse together. He spoke of the
news of the day, the late conquests of the king at Skahr Sabz, and
of the threats of the Persians to attack Bokhdra, all without his ever
suspecting me to be ought but an Asiatic. In return, we had visits
from these merchants, and many other persons who principally came
to gratify their curiosity. We were not permitted to write, and
it was an agreeable manner of passing our time, since they were very
communicative. The Uzbeks are a simple people, with whdm one gets
most readily acquainted : they speak in a curious tone of voice, as if
they despised, or were angry with, you.
They never saluted us by any of the forms among Muhammedans, but
appeared to have another set of expressions, the most common of which
is, " May your wealth increa8e ,, (daulat zyada). They nevertheless
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1838.] The Slave Bazar. 231
always said the "fethaa" or blessing from the Qordn, stretching oat
their hands and stroking down their beard* before they sat down.
Many of our visitors betrayed suspicions of our character, but still
evinced no unwillingness to converse on all points, from the politics of
their king to the state of their markets. Simple people, they believe &
spy must measure their forts and walls, they have no idea of the value
of conversation. With such ready returns on the part of our guests, it
was not irksome for me to explain the usages of Europe ; but let me
advise a traveller to lay in a good stock of that kind of knowledge, be-
fore he ventures to travel in eastern countries. One must have a
smattering of trade, arts, science, religion, medicine, and, in fact, of
every thing; and any answer is better than a negative, since ignorance >
real or pretended, is construed into wilful concealment.
I took an early opportunity of seeing the slave bazar of Bokhara, which
is held every Saturday morning. The Uzbeks manage all their affairs by
means of slaves, who are chiefly brought from Persia by the Turkmans.
These poor wretches are here exposed for sale, and occupy thirty or forty
stalls, where they are examined like cattle, only with this difference, that
they are able to give an account of themselves viva voce. On the
morning which I visited the bazar, there were only six unfortunate
beings, and I witnessed the manner in which they are disposed of.
They are first interrogated regarding their parentage and capture,
and if they are Muhammedans, that is, Sunnis. The question is put
in that form, for the Uzbeks do not consider a Shiah to be a true
believer, since with them, as with the primitive Christians, a secta-
ry is more odious than an unbeliever. After the intended purchaser
is satisfied of the slave's being an infidel (kajfir), he examines his body,
particularly noting if he be free from leprosy, so common in Tdrkis-
/as, and he then proceeds to bargain for his price. Three of the
Persian boys were for sale at thirty tillas of gold a piece*, and it was
surprising to see how contented the poor fellows sat under their lot. I
heard one of them telling how he had been seized south of Meshid,
whue tending his flock ; another, who overheard a conversation among
the bystanders regarding the scarcity of slaves that season, stated
that a great number had been taken. . His companion said with some
feeling, You and 1 only think so, because of our own misfortune ; but
these people must know better. There was one unfortunate girl, but
she had been long in service, and was now being sold by her master
because of his poverty. I felt that many a tear had been shed
m the court where 1 surveyed the scene, but 1 was assured from every
* 200 Rupees.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
232 Description of Bokhara. [Mat,
quarter that slaves are well treated and well fed, and the circumstance
of so many of them remaining in the country after they have been
manumitted seems to establish this fact. The bazars of Bokhara are
chiefly supplied from Organj. Russians and Chinese are also sold
but rarely. The feelings of an European revolt at this odious traffic;
but the Uzbeks entertain no such notions, and believe that they are
conferring a benefit on a Persian when they purchase him, in hopes that
he may renounce his heretical opinions.
From the slave-market I passed on that morning to the great bazar, and
the very first sight which fell under my notice was the offenders against
Muhammedanism of the preceding Friday. They consisted of four indivi-
duals, who had been caught asleep at prayer time, and a youth who had
been seen smoking in public. They were all tied to each other, and the
tobacco-lover led the way, holding his hooka or pipe in his hand. The of-
ficer of police followed with a thick thong, and chastised them as he went,
oallingaloud, " Ye followers of Islam, behold the punishment of those who
violate the law !" Never however was there such a series of contradic-
tion and absurdity as in the practice and theory of religion in Bokhara.
You may openly purchase tobacco, and all the most approved parapher-
nalia for inhaling its narcotic qualities ; yet if seen smoking in public
you are straightway dragged before the Qazi, punished by stripes,
or paraded on a donkey with a blackened face, while the innocent hooka
hangs before you as a warning to others. If a person is caught flying
pigeons on a Friday, he is sent forth with the dead bird round his neck,
seated on a camel. If seen in the streets at the time of prayers, and con-
victed of such habitual neglect, fines and imprisonment follow ; yet there
are bands of the most abominable wretches who frequent the streets in
the evening, and encourage the violation of the Qoran. The laws
of the Faithful punish this offence with death, but the Commander of the
Faithful (the King is so called) sets an example to his subjects, and follows
the customs of his fore-fathers. Every thing indeed presents a tissue
of contradictions, and none were more apparent to me than the punish-
ment of these culprits, who were marching with all the pomp of publicity,
by the very gate way of the court, where human beings were levelled
with the brutes of the earth, no doubt against the laws of humanity, but
as certainly against the laws of Muhammed.
The Hindds of Bokhara sought our society with great avidity, for
that people seem always to look upon the English as their superiors.
They visited us in every country we passed, and would never speak
any other language than Hindustani, which seemed a bond of union
between us and them. In this country they appear to enjoy a suffici*
zed by G00gle
1833.] A wanderer, an Indian sepoy. 833
cut degree of toleration to enable them to live happily. An enume-
ration of their restrictions might make them appear a persecuted race*
They are not permitted to build temples, set up idols, or walk in pro-
cession ; they do not ride within the walls of the city, and must wear
a peculiar dress. They pay the jizsya, or capitation tax, which varies
from four to eight rupees a year ; but this they only render in common
with others, not Muhammedans. They must never abuse or ill use a
Mohammedan. When the King passes their quarter of the city, they
most draw up and wish him health and prosperity. When on horseback
outside the city, they must dismount if they meet His Majesty, or the
Qui. They are not permitted to purchase female slaves, as an infidel
would defile a believer ; nor do any of them bring their families beyond the
Oxos. For these sacrifices, the Hindus in Bokhara live unmolested, and
in all trials and suits have equal justice with the Muhammedans. I could
hear of no forcible instance of conversion to Isldm, though three or
four individuals had changed their creed in as many years. The de-
portment of these people is most sober and orderly : one would imagine
that the tribe had renounced laughter, if he judged by the gravity of
their countenances. They themselves however speak highly of their
privileges, and are satisfied at the celerity with which they can realize
money, though it be at the sacrifice of their prejudices. There are
about three hundred Hindds in Bokhara, and they live in a caravan-
scry of their own. They are chiefly natives of Shikdrpiir, in Sinde,
and their number is on the increase. The Uzbeks and indeed all
the Mohammedans find themselves vanquished by the industry of these
people, who will stake the largest sums of money for the smallest gain.
Among the Hindus we had a singular visitor in a deserter from
the Indian Army at Bombay ! He had set out on a pilgrimage to
all the shrines of the Hindu world, and was then proceeding to
the fire temples on the shores of the Caspian. I knew many of
the officers of the Regiment (the 24th N. I.) to which he had be-
longed, and felt pleased at hearing names which were familiar to
me in this remote city. I listened with interest to the man's detail
of his adventures and travels, nor was he deterred by any fear that I
would lodge information against him and secure his apprehension,
looked upon him as a brother in arms, and he amused me with many a
tale of our friend Muaan Bbo of Kund&s, whom he had served as a
bombardier, and followed in his campaigns. This man, when he first
shewed himself, was disguised in the dress of a pilgrim ; but the carriage
H H
Digiti
zed by G00gle
29* Description of Bokhara. {Mai;
of a soldier is not to be mistaken, though he has traversed the moo*
tains and deserts to Bokhara.
• The house in which we lodged was exceedingly small, and over*
looked on every side ; but we could not regret it, since it present*
«d an opportunity of seeing a Turks beauty, a most handsome young
lady, who promenaded one of the surrounding balconies, and wished
to think she was not seen. A pretended flight was not even neg*
lected by this fair one, whose curiosity often prompted her to steal
a glance at the Firingis. Since we had a fair exchange, she was
any thing but an intruder, though unfortunately too distant for us to
indulge in the sweet " music of speech." The ladies of Bokhara stain
their teeth quite black, they plait their hair and allow it to hang in
tresses down their shoulders. Their dress differs little from the men ;
they wear the same pelisses, only that the two sleeves, instead of being
used as such, are tucked together and tied behind. In the house even
they dress in large Hessian boots, made of velvet and highly ornamented.
What a strange taste for those who are eternally concealed, to choose
to be thus booted as if prepared for a journey. On the head they wear
large white turbans, but a veil covers the face, and many a lovely coun-
tenance wastes its fragrance beneath this netting. The exhibition of
beauty, in which so much of a woman's time is spent in more favored
countries, is here unknown. A man may shoot his neighbour, if lie
sees him on a balcony at any but a stated hour. Assassination follows
suspicion. The laws of the Qord* regarding the sex are here moat
strictly enforced.
In my travels through Cabul I had often enjoyed the luxuries of the
bath, according to the custom of the Orientals. I now had the same
pleasure in Bokhara, but it was only admissable in some buildings,
-since the priests had asserted that the water of certain baths would
change into blood if polluted by a woman or an infidel ! A bath is too
well known to require a description, but the operation is really most
-singular. You are stretched out like a fish, rubbed with a hair bruah,
scrubbed, buffetted and kicked about, but it is still very refreshing.
The baths of Bokhara are most spacious. They are constructed on the
plan of a panoptagon, many smaller domes surrounding a great one.
*and heated to different temperatures. In the day time the light is
^admitted from coloured glasses over the large dome, in the night a
jungle lamp under it suffices for all the cells. The portion of the circle
towards Mecca is appropriated as a mosque, where the luxurious Mo*
hammedan may offer up his orisons while he is enjoying one of the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
M33.] Interview with the Minister. «»
promised blessings of his prophet's paradise. There are eighteen hath*
m Bokhara, one or two are of very large dimensions; but the generality
of them bring' in an annual income of 150 tillas (1000 Rupees). This
is a calculation which may serve to number the inhabitants. Each indi-
vidual pays to the keeper of the bath ten pieces of brass money, of
which there are 135 in a rupee. About an hundred people may there-
fore bathe for a tilla, and 150 tillas will give 15,000 people to each
bath. Eighteen baths will give a total of 2,700,000, who enjoy the
foxury yearly. But the baths are only used during the cold months,
and some of the poorer people are never able to afford the ex-
pense.
r did not omit to pay my respects to the minister while I ram.
bled about the city, and Dr. Gerard in the course often days was
sufficiently recovered to accompany me. The Vizier was equally
inquisitive with the Nawab at Cabdl regarding the manufacture of
medicines and plasters, and the Doctor endeavoured to meet hia
wishes. We had however got into a more civilized region on our
approach to Europe, since the Vizier had received quinine and other
medicines from Constantinople. We sat with the minister, while he
was transacting business, and saw him levy his duties on the mer-
chants, who were never more liberally treated in any country. The
webs of cloth are produced, and every fortieth piece is taken in place of
duties. This gives the merchant his profits, nor distresses him for
ready-money. A Mohammedan indeed has only to take the name of
the prophet, stroke down his beard, and declare himself poor, to be
relieved from all duties. One man said he had witnesses to prove hia
Wing in debt, and would produce them. The minister replied* Give us
your cam, we want no witnesses: he gave it, every one called out
M God is great/' and said the "fdtaha" on which the goods were re*
tamed without an iota of charge. With every disposition to judge fa*
toratUy of the Asiatics, (and my opinions regarding them improved, sm
I hew them better,) I have not found them free from falsehood : I fear,
therefore, that many a false oath is taken among them. No people
ccmld be more liberal encouragers of commerce than the rulers of
&Wr» # During the reign of the last monarch the duties on goods
*trc sever paid till they were sold, as in the bonding system of a Bri«"
tub eastern-house. The Vizier on this occasion conversed at great
KQgth on subjects of commerce relating to Bokhdra and Britain, and
ttpttaed much anxiety to increase the communication between the
eo «fltrki, requesting that I myself would return to Bokhara, and not
H H 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
SS6 Desdtiption of Bokhara. [Mat,
forget to bring a good pair of spectacles for his use. Our intercourse-
was now established on a footing which promised well : I took occasion
therefore to express a wish to the Vizier of paying my homage to the
King. I had touched on a tender point, forit appeared that the minister
had feared our being charged with some proposals to His Majesty,
which we concealed from himself. " I am as good as the Amtfr," (so
the King is called,) said he, " and if you have no matters of businessv
to transact with the king, what have travellers to do with courts ?" I
told him of our curiosity on these points, but he did not choose that
we should have the honor, and that was sufficient for abandoning the
suit.
I was nevertheless resolved to have a sight of Royalty, and at
mid-day on the following Friday repaired to the great mosque, a
building of Timourlane, and saw His Majesty and his court pass-
ing from prayers. The King appears to be under thirty years of age,
and has not a prepossessing countenance ; his eyes are small, his
visage gaunt and pale. He was plainly dressed in a silken robe of
"vdrus," with a white turban. He sometimes wears an aigrette of
leathers, ornamented with diamonds. The Qordn was carried in front
of him, and he was preceded and followed by two golden mace-bearers,
who exclaimed in Turkish, " Pray to God that the Commander of the
Faithful may act justly !" His suite did not exceed an hundred people ;
most of them were dressed in robes of Russian brocade, and wore gold
ornamented swords — I should call them knives, the mark of honor in
this country. His present Majesty has more state than any of his pre-
decessors; but he may consider it necessary to afiect humility in a tem-
ple, and in returning from a religious ceremony. The people drew up
by the way side as he passed, and with a stroke of their beards wished
His Majesty peace; I did the same. The character of this King, Baha-
nua Khan, stands high among his countrymen ; at his elevation to
the throne, he distributed all his wealth. He is strict in his religious
observances, and less bigotted than his father Mia Hrnxn. He acts
according to the Qordn m all cases, and it is pretended that he even
lives on the capitation tax which is levied from the Jews and Hindis.
The revenues of the country are said to be spent in maintaining
mullahs and mosques ; but this young King is ambitious and warlike,
and I believe that it is therefore more probable he turns his treasure
to the increase of his power.
The life of this King is less enviable than that of most private
men. The water which he drinks is brought, in skins from the river,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1853-1 Russian Slav*. IS?
ander the charge and seal of two officers. It is opened by the Visier*
tnd first tasted by his people, and then by himself , when it is again
sealed and dispatched to the King. The daily victuals of His Majesty
undergo a like examination: the minister eats, he gives to those around
him, they wait the lapse of an hour to judge of their effect, when they
are locked up in a box and dispatched ! His Majesty has one key and
his minister another. Fruit, sweetmeats, and every eatable undergo
the same examination, and we shall hardly suppose the good King of
the Uxfeks ever enjoys a hot meal or a fresh-cooked dinner. Poison
is in frequent request, as we may judge by the homely occupations of a
minuter of state. The rise of His Majesty himself to the throne he
sow holds is not however without strong suspicion of a free distribu-
tion of such draughts ; but the detail of those events belongs to smother
portion of my subject.
I expressed a wish soon after reaching Bokhara to see some of
the unfortunate Russians who have been sold into this country. On©
evening, a stout and manly looking person fell at my feet and kissed
them. He was a Russian of the name of Grbgort Pulukopf, who
had been kidnapped when asleep at an outpost, about twenty-five
years ago ; he was the son of a soldier, and now followed the
trade of a carpenter. I made him sit down with us, and give an
account of his woes and condition. It was our dinner time, and the
poor carpenter helped us to eat our pilao. Though but ten years of
age when captured, he yet retained his native language, and the most
ardent love to return to bis country. He paid seven tillas a year to
his master, who allowed him to practise his trade, «nd keep all he
night earn beyond that sum. He had a wife and child, also slaves. " I
am well treated by my master," said he, "I go where I chose, I asso-
ciate with the people and personify the part of a Muhammedan, I appear
happy, but my heart burns for my native land, where I would serve in
the most despotic army with gladness. Could I but see it again, 1
would willingly die. I tell you my feelings, but I smother them from
the Uzbeks. I am yet a Christian, (here the poor fellow crossed himself
after the manner of the Greek Church,) and I live among a people,
who detest with the utmost cordiality every individual of that creed.
It is only for my own peace that I call myself a Muhammedan." The
poor fellow had acquired all the habits and manners of an Uzfek, nor
should I have been able to distinguish him but for his blue eyes, red
Wd, and fairer skin. He inquired of me with much earnestness if
there were any hopes of him' and his comrades being released; but {
Digiti
zed by G00gle
25 8 Description of Bokhara. [Mat,
could give him no further news than the floating rumours which I had
heard of the Emperor's intention to suppress the traffic by an army.
He told me that the last embassy to Bokhara under M. Negri had
failed to effect that desired end, but that the sale of Russians had
ceased in Bokhara for the last ten years. There were not at present
130 natives of Russia in the kingdom.
The whole of those in Bokhdra would have been released by the
Ambassador, had not some religious discussion arisen on the propriety
of allowing Christians who had become Muhammedans to relapse into
their idolatry ! The mullahs had seen the pictures in the Greek Church,
and no argument will reverse what they state to be the evidence of
their senses, that the Russians worship idols. There is generally some
difference of opinion on all points, and that of the Russians and Bokhd-
rts on the subject of slavery was much at variance. The Muhamme-
dans are not sensible of any offence in enslaving the Russians, since
they state that Russia herself exhibits the example of a whole country
of slaves, and particularly in the despotic government of her soldiery.
" If we purchase Russians," say they, " the Russians buy the Kazzaks
on our frontier. We are Muhammedans, and they tamper with these
people by threats, bribery, and hopes to make them forsake their creed
and become idolator3. Look, on the other hand, at the Russians in
Bokhara, at their liberty, comfort, and toleration, and compare it with
the black bread and unrelenting tyranny which they experience in their
native country, and which has on some occasions driven them voluntarily
to us." We shall not attempt to decide between the parties, but it is a
melancholy reflection on the liberties of Russia, that they admit of a
comparison with the institutions of a Tartar kingdom, whose pity, it is
said, is only upon a par with the tyranny of the Afghan.
With Russians, Hindus, and Uzbeks, our circle of acquaintance at
Bokhdra soon increased, and most of the Afghan and Cabdl merchants
sought our society, and we could not but feel gratified at the favorable
opinion entertained by them of the British in India. One of them.
Sirwar Khan, a Lohanee merchant of great opulence, to whom we
were never introduced, offered us any money we might require, and did
it in a manner that left no doubt of his sincerity. We were assailed
by him and his countrymen, and even by Uzbeks, to give notes of
hand, certifying our acquaintance with them; for the Afghans be-
lieve the hand-writing to be a bond of union between English-
men, and that the possession of it secures them an honorable recep-
tion in India. We complied with the wishes of those who deserved
Digiti
zed by G00gle
163S.] On the Climate of Nagptir. 239,
our confidence. Among our other friends was a Cashmir merchant,
who wished me much to assist him in the preparation of cochineal,
which is, I believe, found in Bokhdra, as a worm attached to the root of
a wild shrub. There was also an old man named Haji Miruk, who had
seen the world from Canton to Constantinople, and secretly brought
many old coins and rarities which are acceptable to Europeans. The
most intimate perhaps of all our acquaintance was our landlord, an
JJ.bbk merchant, named Makhsum, who traded to Ydrkand. He paid
us t daily visit, and generally brought some of his friends along with
him. I shall mention an incident regarding this person, which is cre-
ditable to him. He was a most communicative man, and gave me much
interesting information : as our intimacy increased, I interrogated him
closely on the revenues and resources of Bokhdra, on its extent and
power, and produced a small map of the country to exhibit before him.
He replied to all my inquiries, and then begging me to shut up the
map, besought me never again to produce such a paper in Bokhdra,
since there were innumerable spies about the King, and it might be
productive of very serious consequences. He still continued his visits,
and his information with the same freedom as before. On our first
arrival in the city, the keeper of the caravansary refused us quarters,
because we had no character, that is, we were neither merchants nor
ambassadors ; but this good man had let his house to us. He had
been attacked by his neighbours, terrified by his friends, and he
himself trembled at the risk which he had incurred. The keeper of
the caravansary now hid his head in shame, and the landlord shared
our intimacy ; his neighbours curried favor with him to be brought to
vs, and our society was more courted than was agreeable.
III.— On the Climate o/Nagpdr. By W. Geddes, Surgeon, Mad. Eur. Reg.
To the Editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society. W -\
At the request of my friend, Mr. Malcolmson, of the left wing,
Madras European Regiment, I have the pleasure to forward the result
of some meteorological observations, which he tells me may be inter-
esting to you. I am much afraid that he may have given you reason
to expect more useful information on this subject than I have it in my
power to give you ; but the truth is, that I have generally confined my
observations to the appearances on the sky, in the shape of clouds, and
We paid less attention to the indications given by instruments; as {
Digiti
zed by G00gle
240^ On the Climate of Nagp&r. (Mat,
have been so situated that I have either not had sufficient leisure to
make a regular series of observations on the latter, or those instru-
ments in my possession have not been sufficiently correct to allow me
to depend much upon them. This you will at once observe from the
circumstance of my barometrical inquiries being made on the sympie-
someter, in the accompanying table ; and you will perceive that the in-
strument I have, which was received here apparently in good order, in
the month of January, 1831, from England, has become liable to the
objections made to it, by yourself, in the 15th volume of the Asiatic
Researches 11 , and this to such a degree, that I am doubtful whether you
can make any use of the results which I now send you. They fully
bear out however your own observations. In Europe, it appears, the
instrument is conceived to rise in its indications, instead of lowering, as
with us, at least if I may judge from a note made in the 10th volume of
Brb wbtbs's Journal of Science ; although, by the bye, the remark is rather
obscure. With respect to the hygrometer used by me, it is one upon
Katbr'8 plan of the ouMna grassf, made by Robinson, in Devonshire
Street, which is convenient from the facilities of ascertaining its indi-
cations. Its extreme dryness is 0, extreme moisture 9.05, and the
state of the atmosphere is at once shown from the index on the top of
the instrument. By some trials made with Danibll's hygrometer, 1 .64
of Katbr was equal to 31 degrees of dryness, and 1.96 of the former to
26 of dryness, and 3.69 to 10 degrees, as indicated by the dew-point
on Danibll}. You will perceive that I have not made my observations
at the extremes of the diurnal changes in the atmosphere ; but as I have
already said, I have been in the habits chiefly of noting the state of
my instrument more as explanatory of the appearances on the sky,
than with other objects, and have accordingly chosen the periods which
were most convenient to myself, for recording their indications. Tne
state of the seasons, as extracted from my medical reports, will explain
some points regarding the thermometer, and the quantity of rain given
is that observed to have fallen at Nagpur at the distance of nine miles
of this place, and which was recorded by Dr. Wtllib, late Residency
Surgeon there.
• Vide also Gleanings in Sciencb, i. 201.
t (Andropogon contortum.)
% As the temperature, at which these comparisons were made, is not mentioned,
It is impossible to form a -correct scale for Kater's hygrometer : the safest plan will
be to assume that equal increments denote nearly equal accessions of aqueous ten-
sion ; 9.05 being 100 or extreme moisture, each indication may be divided by 9 Is
And the tension- roughly. — En.
Digitized by
Google
1833.]
I
1
i
i
i S fi
n I
i 4
S 3
i
I
On tfe Climate of Nagpdr.
241
•m» a
■«m RSfeassassoBeggsfcfesssRssRKRsa
•>«*<n s:R3888R8RRSSe;:88SRR8fcRS8RR
*•*» SSSSSaSSSRRRfeSSS&SaSS&RRRfc
■"•»« 828§3828»£g§S£S?&c?352»isS!8S£
""n RR8838RgfcE888R&88RRRRi5S8T8
•^»!H 8aasaa8g8xfeg8g8S3S88888fcg88
■■"is S§S8»5l5S^§33§g«8xie8?!feSSigSS
vaifln r3^555^i? ty5 ? ::,0< ^ ci -^^* r50 — »-^ ^ o* x » -** ao k* © =>
TsatiStu »» SBSiesHPfiO t*r*&§! «© *?» 3o?o» to to *,o ttoTto oo 3T
'_ — Og > O ?* "T CO ?j — i ?C ~i ~i — i Q ' Q yi M -j O r^ -H* -h' o o
t"H*h! |~$*8S|gg288g&2g i8888fe88C&8
gc c^ o -^ to ib to to' tn to co to* go — ' to tb to iq eo — ! oi «?i — " "
■«««) |8^|R2sS|8fe5!?88 i8292R3S3SS
i»Moql iS$$328s3$fe^$858 ,S5SSS"8&28SS
_ ■ « ff»~ tb tQtQtO ib tb tb ?0 tO ?0 -* * tOtO io" irioi-^ 00 g»-^ o
t «^«totqi^^i^^cvioOi^tOi0^5--!oio5io?wtN. .
r© © © C* -rf ■» ■?< g* *» ?i .^ ~ o © o ?j «j ^hmfnhoo
■ _p C* — "» '0 iQ '-C to tri tQ t p tp yj ~ — < tb tb tpiO CO g* so co c*^
•treajv
1 1 1" f I' i' i" i r i" f f i s$s i" 1 1 f 1 1 1 "
jsawoq
£S382S8S§3S238feSS3S&3© : 2&S38S;S
g$ i f 1 1 1 1" r f 1 1 r r f fa i* i8 i f f r 1 1 1
g*gcg»is.ccC5©ccx'^g*r:^xg^^-*©g»©eoio©^tg*-i»
'lSAt) il ( LT ^-0»Tj'tOtO««Ct>.COdiCi50*0'<t«0-Hi'*rCTftO*oS^r^
n g ig 1 1 1 1 1 r i \ \ \ i r r r i f 1 1 1 1 r r i
'"»: '|^
bR^8^5S?3SS§|^552S8fe85Slfe388
a 1 1 1 1 m' i f 1 1 f f i' r ra fg" i" r 1 1 1 r f
*}BaM0*7
KSS82S58S3SgSSSS88Sg §888858
8 I M I I I I I f I' I i I f£ 1 f 18 I* f f i |'g
■l^M^H
238S3S8SSSSS5fc382S28«88S8S8
8 1 ia i i i 1 1 1 r 1 1 r f 1 1 \ 1 1 1 1 1* f r f I
*I1B3J\I
S8^^9«SS8Sss8S38£SS2^88
88
I 1 I II I I I I I MM I !' I I
*|saMoq
5:838833882858538888228^8582
a fin 1 1 1 1" 1 1 r if f f sf i'8 f i f i r » r
IsatjSjH
'M'7?OiON.ls.OO'^'j3C)iO'^ 1 '— rp
S 18 I" 5 I I I I I' 8' I
§iSo53^228^3S8SSS
'III I I' I I" t \ I I I
I
Sj : : : :?iJt§8&„i ; : : :tfli|IISj
- If f i f HI l §"d^ riLssjslfJ I s^i i
Digiti
zed by G00gle
242 On the Climate of Nagptr. [Mat,
Rmtraets of Meteorological Remarks made in the Periodical Returns from the
Medical Department of the Right Wing, Madras European Regiment, stationed
at Kampti.
First quarter of 1831. — " The period includes the last half of
the cold and the commencement of the hot season. In January of the
present quarter, the sky was for the most part clear throughout the
month, the cloudy appearances never extending beyond a little cirrus,
or cirro-cumulus, or a few cumuli dissolving in the evening ; and the
wind was most generally from some part of the west in the morning,
and the east in the course of the day, but seldom blowing with great
strength from any quarter, or continuing past sunset. The last day of
January and first five days of February exhibited appearances of a more
moist state of the atmosphere, with a greater variety in the cloudy for-
mations, and there was a slight rain through the greater part of the
second of this month, and again more heavily in the afternoon of the
fourth. During the remainder of February, likewise, a greater degree of
humidity prevailed, than in January, and nimbal masses were frequent-
ly to be seen around the horizon in the afternoon, or evening. The
aky was generally covered with a layer, more or less dense or irregular,
of a cirro-cumulous nature in the morning, and from this occasionally a
few drops of rain were found to fall about sunrise, while cumuli succeed-
ed to this in the course of the day. On the third the sky was obscured
by a fog in the morning, and again on the 2ist and 22nd a less degree
of this description of cloud was present at the same time, in either case
ending in cumuli. These cumuli, from whatever source originating,
often changed into cirro-cumuli in the evening, and in other cases
went on at an earlier part of the day, to form cumulo-strati, or nimbal
clouds on various parts of the horizon. Excepting from the latter clouds,
cirrus was but rarely seen, and there were only three perfectly
clear days throughout the month. The wind, which was occasionally
modified in the afternoon by the presence of clouds, observed the same
general course as in January ; but occasionally southerly wind began
early in the forenoon, changing afterwards to one from the north-east,
and this also was often found blowing more steadily than in the pre-
ceding month. The month of March presented occasional short peri-
ods of a moist description, having cumulo-stratus masses formed in the
afternoon, and from one of these a considerable fall of rain took place
on the night of the 10th. At other times, the appearances were much like
those of the preceding months, but in a less degree, and the wind in
general followed the same course as in February."
Second quarter of 1831. — "This period, as mentioned in former
report, includes the height of the hot season, and the commencement of
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1883.] On the Climate ofNagpkr. 243
the rains. The seasons in general in this country, succeed to each
other with so much regularity, and each in its appropriate period exhi-
bits so little variety in the circumstances of different years, that it ap-
pears unnecessary to enlarge upon those of the present season, further
than to point at same period of last year. Referring therefore to my
report for this quarter of 1830, 1 have to state, that the chief peculiari-
ties of the present season have been a greater, and more continued,
degree of heat, than in the hot months of last year, a somewhat more
early occurrence of the rains, and their being in greater abundance
than during the month of June, in 1830. In the beginning of -April,
several showers fell, and one* of these, on the 8th of the month, consist-
ed of hailstones* the largest of which varied from six to nine inches in
circumference. From this period, however, on to the commencement
of the monsoon, with the exception of a few drops at distant periods,
no rain took place, and this space of two months was one unbroken
continuation of hot-weather. During this time a registering thermo-
meter, exposed to a breeze in an outer room, shewed the rising of the
quicksilver daily from the 27th of April to the 7th of June, with three
exceptions, to from 100 to 107. To this succeeded the rains, which
commenced on the afternoon of the latter date, and throughout the re-
mainder of the month showers took place almost daily ; the quantity of
rain by the end of the month being nearly double that of the same
period of last year."
Third quarter of 1831. — "This period comprises die chief part
of the rains, and at the same time the most unhealthy portion of the
year. As mentioned in last report, a great quantity of rain fell in June ;
but this was followed by a dry period of twenty days, viz. from the
22nd of June, until the 11th of July. The remainder of the latter
month was, generally speaking, wet, especially towards the end of the
month ; but altogether the rain which fell in July was somewhat below
the "quantity in the same period of last year. The month of August in
both years has been attended with the most continued rain of the sea-
son, and this has kept up a continued degree of moisture on the surface
throughout the month. In September, there have been a few larger
Intervals of fair weather, but occasionally heavy falls of rain have taken
place, and the ground has been in a constantly moist state in conse-
quence. The monsoon, on the whole, has been accompanied with the
average quantity of rain, the chief peculiarities being the extensive fall
in June, and the succeeding dry weather until the middle of July.
The wind, as usual, has been chiefly from the westward, and, at times,
in the early part of the season, has blown with considerable strength.
. ■• Vide page 5.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$44 Oh the Climate of Nagpur. [Mat*
In the month of August, however, and more especially in September,-
there have been occasionally north or south easterly winds, and some of
these have been attended with heavy foils of rain."
Fourth quarter of 1831. — "The weather throughout the quarter
has shewn little of that settled appearance which formed its principal
feature in the same period of last year, and which is usual at this season.
A greater tendency to the formation of cloudy masses upon the sky,
and the frequent deposition of rain from these, has continued to prevail
after the termination of the usual rainy months, than was manifested
during the same period of 1830, and has given altogether to the pre*
sent season the peculiarity of a combination of cold and moisture; but,
at the same time, a less degree of extreme heat and cold, than are usual
at Kampti at this period of the year. The rain has fallen particularly,
from the 15 th to the 20th of October, in the first and last week of
November, and in the beginning, and from the 15th to the 26th of
December. The winds have in the intervals of settled weather fol-
lowed their usual course in these months, of blowing slightly from the
eastward in the fore and afternoons, and occasionally in the evening ;
while* in the night and morning, there has either been a calm, or a
slight wind from the westward. In the more unsettled portions of the
quarter, the wind has either been irregular, or modified by the presence
or passage of raining clouds, or it has shifted from either the north*
east or south, to another quarter, from whence it has blown for a day
or two, and the change has been generally attended by a greater or lest
degree of rains."
First half yearly return of 1832. — •• The period, comprising the
last half of the cold season, the whole of the hot-weather, and tfie
commencement of the rains, has altogether been a favourable one with
respect to the health of the regiment : and this circumstance appears to
be referrible to the genial nature of the season, the temperature of
which remained cool to a much later period than is usual ; while along
with this coolness, there has been more generally present a dry state
of the atmosphere, than in the same seasons of the preceding years*
The extreme heat, in the table prefixed, of Fahrenheit's thermometer ap-
pears greater, from the observations being taken in the two latter
months, on a registering thermometer, and the records being made
from the hottest period of the day. The general features of the wea-
ther have, as recorded in former reports, consisted, in the early
part of the half year, of cool, generally cloudless, days, with little wind*
diversified on the 20th of February by a considerable fall of rain* with
wind from the eastward ; and, latterly, until the 8th of June there has
been a gradual or irregular increase of. temperature, with occasional
Digitized by
Google
1833.1 On the Climate of Nagpdr* 24&
marks of greater moisture in the atmosphere ; but excepting slightly on
the 20th of March, no rain has fallen beyond a few drops till the peri-
od of Jane above-mentioned. The course of the season altogether ha*
been observed to be more backward than is usual. The temperature
has remained low to a later period ; the progress of vegetation, as exhi-
bited in the time of flowering of trees, and the maturation of their fruits*
has been considerably behind what has been observed in previous years i
and connected perhaps with the same cause, the rains have been be*
yond their more regular season of shewing themselves. Thus, after a
little partial rain on the 8th of Jcne, the hot winds recommenced, and
there was no further fall of rain until the 17th of the month; since
which period, till the date of this report, the season has resumed ita
usual course, and the weather has become moist and cool, with occa-
sional rails of rain."
6th. Second half year of 1832. — " The period which includes the
greater part of the rainy season, and half of the cold weather, has been
distinguished by the abrupt cessation of the former, and the long con-
tinuance accordingly of a dry state of the atmosphere, with its neces-
sary consequence of a less degree of moisture of the soil, and of vegeta-
tion ; and, as will be supposed also, of sources of malaria. The regular
rains may indeed be said to have terminated in the end of July in the
present season; for in the month of August, in which usually the most
continued or heavy falls take place, there has only been about a quarter of
the usual supply , divided however very generally over the whole month;
while in September, about half the quantity of the last two years has fallen,
the greater part of which took place in the first four days of the month,
and again on the 20th and 21st. Since this period, with the exception
of a single shower on the 7 th of October, and a slight rain on the 10th
of December, the weather has been perfectly dry, exhibiting a settled
appearance, with a cloudless sky ; or it has been more or less disturbed
hy the presence of rain or storms in neighbouring latitudes, chiefly, it
would appear, from other observations, to the eastward. Altogether,
the quantity of rain of the present season does not exceed half of that
of 1831, or two-thirds of 1830 ; and the fall is further peculiar in this,
that unlike that of last year, which continued heavily on through the
"x>otha of August, September, October, November, and December, and
of 1830, which was also heavy in August and September, with a consi-
derable rail likewise in October, the chief portion of the present year
h** taken place in the months of June and July, with only a scanty
»«pply afterwards."
Daring the months of January, February, and March, 1833, the chief
feature has been the continued dry state of the atmosphere; and, accord-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
245 On the Climate of Nagpur. [Mat,
Ingly, the cloudy appearances, which have for a day or two, at time*,
shewn a less degree of this state, have never gone on to rain farther
than a few drops ; while the weather has generally continued for long
periods of an extremely settled appearance.
The hail-storm on the 8th of April, 1831, was referred at the time to
the occurrence of an opposite current of dry winds, which appeared to
impinge upon the sheet of rain presented to its influence, and the fol-
lowing description, taken from notes immediately afterwards, seems to
confirm this idea. Neither the sympiesometer or thermometer shewed
any thing worthy of notice at this period. The hygrometer had
through the 6th and 7th of the month ranged from 1.40 to 1.72, and
during the 8th, it stood at 2.17 at 9 a. m., 2.12 at 2 p. m., and 2.22
at 8 p. m . Until past 2 p. m. the appearances on the sky had been
cirrus from a distant nimbal cloud in the morning, cirro-cumulus,
loose cirro-stratus, and some cumuli, passing below this, also of a loose
structure. The wind had been blowing from the eastward in the morn-
ing, changing in the forenoon to the south-east, and continuing from
thence afterwards; but towards 2 p. m . the course of the cumuli above
shewed a current of air flowing there from the westward. Shortly af-
ter two, some distant thunder was heard, and the sky had become
nearly covered with cirrus. Cumuli were observed to commence rain-
ing in the west, and they increased in size, and approached from that
direction about 4 p. m . Another nimbus was seen in the south-east-
ward, while that in the west was advancing, and loud gusts of wind
with much dust began blowing from the former towards the latter. In
the mean time, the western cloud kept approaching, the rain falling
from it, presenting a whitish appearance above the dust, some scud
was seen passing before it, in a course towards the east, and immedi-
ately a heavy fall of hail took place, driven by a wind from the west-
ward. The hail continued to fall for several minutes, and the course
of the cloud towards the east could be traced for at least four miles, by
the damage done to the fruit trees, glazed windows, &c. in the canton-
ment. The breadth of the shower however was extremely small, the
ground being found quite dry at a few hundred yards to the south-
ward from where the hail, or rather the masses of ice, fell in greatest
quantity. These masses were irregular, and clean on the outer surface .
but in the centre presented a white crystallized appearance. Through-
out the evening afterwards, several large cumulo-strati were seen in the
east, with much lightning there; and a cool breeze blew from thence*
with cumulous fragments of cloud on a clear sky.
W. G.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Rise of Spring tides in Bombay Harbour.
247
IV. — Table skewing the Rise of Spring tides in Bombay Harbour, during
night and day, for the year 1832, communicated bg Ben. Noton, Esq.
Date and state
Ri
se of the Tide.
Date and state
Rite of the Tide.
of the Moon.
of the Moon.
Day.
Night.
Day.
Night.
ft.
in.
ft.
in.
ft in.
ft.
in.
January 14
14
6
11
14
6
15
13
6
16
12
13 9
15
6
16
14
3
16
5
13
14 6
15
9
Ol7
15
17
9
14
15 6
16
18
15
9
17
11
015
15 9
16
19
16
17
11
16
16
15
5
20
16
17
6
17
15 8
14
6 '
21
15
6
18
15 2
28
12
6
26
12
9
29
11
3
13
6
27
12 9
13
9
30
12
14
3
28
13 6
14
3
31
12
6
15
29
14 6
14
9
February 1
13
2
15
5
#30
15 6
15
• 2
13
6
15
7
May 1
16 3
15
5
3
14
15
7
2
16 7
15
3
4
14
2
3
16 9
12
13
6
10
13
3
13
12
6
14
8
11
13 3
14
14
13
6
15
9
12
14 3
14
3
15
14
6
16
9
13
14 9
14
3
016
15
3
17
5
014
15
14
3
17
16
9
17
5
15
15
13
9
18
15
9
17
16
14 9
13
3"
19
15
3
17
14 3
27
11
6
' 26
13
28
11
12
9
27
13 6
13
6
29
11
6
14
28
14 6
14
3
March 1
13
15
29
16
14
6
• 2
14
15
9
#30
16 3
14
6
3
14
6
15
9
31
16 9
14
6
4
15
15
6
June 1
16 9
14
3
5
14
9
2
16 6
12
13
6
9
13
13
12
6
15
10
14
13
6
14
14
16
3
11
14 9
14
15
14
9
16
9
12
15 3
14
3
016
15
6
17
013
15 6
14
6
17
15
9
17
14
15 9
14
9
18
16
16
6
15
15 11
14
9'
19
16
16
15 9
27
12
3
24
13
28
11
6
13
6
25
14
14
29
12
9
14
9
26
15 6
14
6
30
13
9
15
27
16 6
14
9
31
14
6
15
3
#28
17
15
April • 1
15
3
15
9
29
17 6
15
3
2
15
9
16
30
17 9
14
r
3
16
lJuly 1
17 3
Digiti
zed by G00gle
248
Rise of Spring tides in Bombay Harbour.
[Mat.
Date and state
Rise of the Tide. 1
Date and state
Rise of the Tide.
of the Moon.
j
of the Moon.
Day.
Night. J
Day.
Night.
ft. in.
ft. in. |
ft. in.
ft. in.
July 8
12
October 5
11 6
9
13
12 6
6
12 9
12 6
10
13 9
12 9
7
13 9
13 6
11
14 3
13
8
14
14 3
12
14 7
13
9
14 5
15
013
14 7
13
Oio
15
15 3
14
14 11
13
11
15
15 6
15
14 11
12
14 9
23
12
20
13 9
24
14
13
21
14 9
14 9
25
15 3
14
22
15 3
15 6
26
16 3
15
23
15 6
16 3
#27
17 3
15 6
#24
15 6
16 3
28
17 6
16
25
15 3
16
29
17 9
16 3
26
14 9
15 6
30
17 3
27
13 5
.August 7
11 9
November 4
12 6
8
13 3
12 3
5
13 3
13 16
9
14 3
12 8
6
13 9
14 6
10
14 6
13 3
7
14 3
15 9
on
14 9
13 6
O 8
14 9
16 3
12
15
13 10
9
14 11
16 6
13
15 1
13 10
10
14 7
16 3
14
15 1
11
14
22
12 3
18
14
23
14 3
13 3
19
14
14 9
24
15 6
14 6
20
14 6
15 6
25
16 6
15
21
14 9
16 3
#26
16 9
15 9
#22
14 9
16 3
27
16 9
16
23
14 3
16 3
28
16 9
15 9
24
14
15 9
29
16 3
25
13 6
September 5
11 6
December 3
13
6
12 9
11 9
4
13
14
7
13 6
12 6
5
13 6
15
8
14 3
13 3
6
14 3
16 6
9
14 9
14
7
14 9
17
10
15
14 3
O 8
15
17 8
on
15 3
14 6
9
15
17 8
12
15 3
10
15
20
12
18
14
21
14 3
13
19
13 3
14 9
22
15
14 3
20
13 3
15 3
23
16
15 3
21
13 3
15 9
#24
16 3
15 10
#22
13 6
16
25
16 3
16
23
13 6
16
26
16
15 6
24
13
15 3
27
14 9
25
13
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
1853.] On tie Native Manufacture of Turpentine. 349
V. — On the Native Manufacture of Turpentine. ^ '
It would be an useful point of inquiry to discover in how far we
may tarn the natural as well as artificial products of this country to
account, without looking elsewhere, and particularly to England : in
the shape of magazine stores, Government has from the beginning been
importing articles of various descriptions at a great expence, and at
great risk ; many of which are not only procurable in the country, but
to be purchased at a rate much lower, and of a quality infinitely superi-
or, to those from England. No person acquainted with the interior of
an arsenal or magazine, who has given the matter any consideration
whatever, can be at a loss to see how the question applies, and both as
a matter of economy, and as a method of introducing stores of a better
description into the public depots, a professional officer could not
better apply his attention, than in endeavoring to prove to Govern-
ment the value of such an inquiry. I will, as opportunity offers, bring
forward points that come under my immediate observation ; and al-
though to many people the subjects of discussion may appear trifling
and uninteresting, or unworthy of that consideration, that I am inclined
to give them, it must still be recollected, that a very trifling saving on
the rate of an article much in requisition is a matter of considerable
importance, where the consumption of the article in question is great.
In commencement of the subject, I will take the common fir (Pinus
longifolia), native name Mr, in great abundance in the lower line of
hills that skirts the Duns, or valleys (at the foot of the Himalayas),
and separating them from the plains. From this tree the natives obtain,
in their rough way, tar and turpentine, and use the wood for work
where lightness is required, 'fhe tar made by them, I imagine, is equal
to that obtained by a more refined process, and the turpentine merely
requires that attention which every establishment under the eye of
skilful management could give, in producing the article as good as
that from Europe. The method of obtaining tar, as put into practice
by the natives at the foot of these hills, is more simple, and apparently
better than what is described as the custom in Norway, and other
countries in Europe, where tar is made by the foresters. The wood
selected for the purpose is that which has either been cut or blown down
the previous season, and which is dry. This is cut up into small pieces,
and put into large earthen pots, holding about 10 seers (or gurtass),
with narrow necks, through the bottom of which holes of about \ of
an inch have been drilled. A pot so filled with the wood is then luted
over with wet mud on the top and sides, and a hole being dug in the
K K
Digiti
zed by G00gle
250 On the Native Mamfacture of Turpentine. [Mat,
ground, a smaller pot, holding about J of a seer of the same descrip-
tion as the above, is placed in it, over which the large one is put, and
the space round refilled with earth ; a heap of cow-dung, about 15
seers, is then piled over the whole, (which during the operation requires
replenishing. with about an equal quantity}) this is set fire to, and kept
burning for about eight or nine hours, after which, the pots are remoT-
ed, and the tar which has run off into the lower vessel, is put aside into
a receptacle for that purpose : each pot runs off about five chittaks of tar,
and gives a refuse of about a seer of charcoal — five men will make abort
two maunds and 10 seers, or nine of these pots full of tar, during the
month, and the expence of the article will be as follows :
1. One head man, at per month, 5
Four men, at each four rupees, 16
Purchase of pots and sundries, 1
Total, 22
Which on 2 J maunds will give a rate per seer of three annas and 1 1 pie,
nearly, from which is to be deducted the value of the charcoal, which in
a large manufactory is considerable ; in the above seven maunds, 35 seers,
which in the forests would sell for two rupees, reducing the rate per seer
of tar to three annas seven pie nearly. This tar is used on the boats on
the Doab Canal, and also on the wood-work of the dams and regulat-
ing bridges, and wherever a weather boarding mixture is required;
and I believe it may be recommended in every way. The common native
turpentine is used also with the tar for these purposes. The fir wood
itself is good for boxes, table, planks, and articles of that description,
and also makes floats for rafting the heavier varieties of wood : it has
also been used in making boats, (an experiment tried from its lightness,
and cheapness of working,) but without that success that was anticipated,
the planking having become completely rotten and unserviceable after
the work of two seasons. The natives hold the wood in no esteem what-
ever, but experience has shewn that for the purposes above-mentioned,
namely for boxes, &c. this fir is as good as the common deal, and
from its excessive lightness is certainly to be highly prized.
Fig. 1. of Plate IX. exhibits a sectional view of the simple turpen-
tine-still of the natives; a is the vessel in which the wood is heated;
b that in which the turpentine is collected.
B.
Northern Doab, March 26th, 1833.
Digitized by
Google
183$.] Sum Dial at Agra. 251
VI.— Description of a Sun Dial in the Court of the Mot( Masjid, in the
Fort of Agra. By Copt. J. T. Boilbau, Engineers.
Among the curiosities of this once great emporium of learning and
art, which have attracted the attention of strangers, is a dial-plate of
white marble, with lines inlaid on its surface of a black slate ; similar
to the accompanying sketch. The style, which appears to have been an
upright round pin, is gone, and the inlaying has been pulled out ; but
the configuration of the lines is still perfect, being marked by the chan-
nels wherein the inlaying fitted. The breadth of these channels is
about §th of an inch.
The dial-plate is set up in the court of the Moti Masjid, a building
which was constructed in the latter end of the reign of Aurangzib,
about the year 1673, and it is probable that this dial was put up about
the same time ; but whether in its present site and position, or elsewhere,
I have not been able to ascertain.
The absence of hour lines, excepting xn and vi a. m. and p. ii. would
lead to the supposition, that the object for which the dial was con-
structed had reference only to the times of Mussulman prayer ; but the
object of the circular arc, which subtends an angle of about 95 degrees,
has never been explained, although many celebrated Moulavis have
visited the Masjid and examined the dial as it stands.
The surface of the dial inclines south about gths of an inch, which leads
me to believe, that it has been removed from the place where it was ori-
ginally fixed ; for the inclination is too small to affect the projection of
the shadow of the gnomon in any sensible degree, and I believe, there-
fore, that it stood originally in a perfectly horizontal position.
With regard to the true north point of the dial, it is difficult from .
the mere inspection of the lines upon it to come to any determination.
The Ifotf Masjid stands in lat. 27* 9' nearly, and the sun's greatest de-
clination N. being 23* 27 £', he of course can never approach nearer
our zenith than 3° 41' to the south. It is not possible, therefore,
that the circular arc, which is inclined about 29° to the present meri-
dian line, could under any circumstances mark the path of the shadow
of a style placed as the style of this dial was, in a vertical position.
Agra, March 2\st, 1833.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$56 Catalog** of CeUstUd Objects [Mat,
VII. Catalogue of the most remarkable Celestial Objects visible in tie
horizon of Calcutta, arranged in order of Right Ascension. ^
We have obtained permission to give publicity to the following ca-
talogue, which was drawn up by Sir J. S. W.JIbrschbll. to accompany
the ten feet reflecting telescope sent out to India by that distinguished
astronomer for the private use of his relations in this country. It wDl
of course answer equally well for other telescopes, and will in some
measure serve as a test of their goodness and space-penetrating power.
The names and numbers in the last two columns refer to Bora's
maps of the constellations, which afford a ready means of finding the
place of the object in the heavens, as they represent the stars of the
celestial sphere direct, whereas upon the globe they are necessarily
reversed. But to those who do not possess Book's maps, the right
ascension and declination will, with a little more trouble, enable the
common observer to discover their position, while the astronomer with
his transit will find out the whole with ease*.
Explanation of the *ignt uted m the Catalogue.
Column 1, contains an enumeration of the whole. One asterisk (*) placed sgsinit
a number denotes that the object is striking •> two 'asterisks (**) that it b
particularly curious.
Column 2, contains the right ascension in hours, minutes, and seconds.
Column 3, the declination in degrees and minutes.
Column 4, N and S, indicate whether the declination is north or south.
Column 5, gives the authority whence the objects are extracted. The Roman numbers
4 1. II. Ill/ &c. refer to Sir W. Hkrschkll's catalogue of nebula and double
stars by classes.
A refers to Dunxop'b catalogue of southern nebulas.
A' ditto to ditto, double stars.
M ditto to Messier' 8 nebula.
Column 6, describes the object by the following signs.
N, nebula.
D, double.
0, globular cluster.
O, planetary nebulas.
d&, cluster of irregular figure.
O, nebulous star.
Column 9, refers to the numbered maps of " Bode'* Constellation*."
• Our readers will remember the announcement at Bombay, in October last, of
the discovery of Biela's Comet, which from its being so stationary was supposed
to be coming direct towards the earth : the situation of the object proved it to be
the nebula in Andromeda, No. 3. When really seen by Sir John Herschbll on the
23rd September and again in November, the comet did however really appear ex-
acty similar to a faint circular nebula.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1888]
FiriUe t» thfUoriton of Calcutta.
m
m O
ii
c
V
J*
<
1?
5
Description of Object.
1
!
A. m. *.
• t
I
6 50
40 10
s.
A 507
N.
" A beautiful long nebula,"
Appara-
tus
Sculp-
17
to ris.
2
23 16
6356
S.
A' 1
D.
Toucani. iv. class. 4tb=4th
mag. a superb D. Star— but
barely rises above the Calcutta
horizon.
Toucan.
90
••3
33 26
40 21
V
N.
The great nebula in Androme-
da.
Andro-
meda,
1
4
38 51
56 55
\
D.
17 Cassiopeiae. A Binary star, of
finely contrasted colours.
Cassio-
peia,
4
•5
6
39 13
26 16
8.
V. 1
N.
A very large long neb.
Cetus,
17
7
1 4 6
6 39
N
D.
f Piscium.
Pisces.
11
8
1 19 43
33 31
s.
a' a
11 A star 7m of a very uncom-
mon red- purple colour. Very
dusky, &c."
Machina
electrica.
17
9
124 15
29 52
N.
M. 33
8
A fine large cluster, 18' diame-
ter.
7 Arietis, 2nd or 3rd class.
Pisces.
11
10
144 13
18 27
N
D.
Aries.
11
11
147 20
36 55
V
VII. 32
&
A large and very rich cluster.
Andro-
meda.
4
•12
I 53 16
156
\.
D.
a Piscium. II Class.
Pisces.
li
13
153 29
4131
\
D.
y Andromedae. A superb dou-
ble star of strongly contrasted
colours.
Andro-
meda.
4
14
2 6 53
56 22
N.
VI. 33
m
f A pair of fine rich clusters,
Perseus.
4
15
2 9 46
56 21
N.
VI. 34
ffi
< almost joining. — In the
(_ sword- ban die of Perseus.
•16
231
4159
N.
M. 34
&
The Brilliant cluster in Perseus.
Perseus.
1
17
2 34 12
44
S,
M. 77
N.
Very bright nebula.
Cetus,
17
16
2 51 19
41
s.
A' 9
D.
e Kridani. Magn. 4 and 6 ; dist.
10".
A small bright globular cluster.
Kridanus.
20
19
3 7 47
S5 55
s.
A 337
©
Horolo-
20
20
giiim.
21
3 5140
60 25
\.
IV. 53
O
A pretty bright planetary ne-
bula. 1' diam. invis, to naked
Camelo-
pardalis.
5
22
3 58 28
30 20
N.
IV. 69
©
eye.
A star 8m with a nebulous at-
mosphere. A most curious ob-
ject, but probably difficult to
find, being invisible to the
naked eye.
Perseus.
4
23
4 6 38
13 11
s.
IV. 26
O
A very bright planetary nebula.
Eridanus
17
24
i U :»_'
28 14
V
A ruby -coloured star 8m.
Taurus.
12
25
5 6 22
8 24 S.
D.
Rigel. The companion is very
Orion.
IS
small, and only 9" distant from
the large star.
•26
5 7
40 15
S.
A 508
®
Described by Dunlop, as the
brightest small nebula he bas
seen, diam. l'§.
Ccela.
18
27
5 14 34
35 38
X.
M. 38
ft
The cluster m Auriga.
Auriga.
;.
•28
5 24 a
2149
N.
M. 1
N.
An irresolvable nebula (near
Taurus.
u
Digiti
zed by G00gle
854
Catalogue of Celestial Objects
[Mat,
•29
30
•31
32
33
35
$6
37
38
40
41
•42
•43
44
IS
41
47
•48
•4!'
•50
5.2
5 24 40
5 25 36
5 27 13
5 32 6
5 32 37
5 58 26
6 14 30
6 48
6 54 55
7 936
•39 7 23 44
8-2
34 11
9 49
531
2 4
9
24 3
441
13 50
8 9
22 17
32 15 N
X.
7 31 48 26 26
7 34 16
7 34 38
8 2 27
81618
8 36 23
14 25
17 50
1810
27 30 N,
29 23 N.
842 8
9 40 50
1010 35
1016 49
11 8 48
12 30
69 55
20 42
17 48
32 30 N,
M. 36
IV. 34
M. 35
M. 50
A' 53
M. 46
N. M. 67
N. „ 81,82
N
s.
IV. 27
S
I).
IV. 64 O
J).
I>.
Description of Object.
f Tauri). A very curious ob-
ject.
Large brilliant cluster in Auri-
ga.
X Ononis.
The great nebula about 6 Orio-
nis. The most extraordinary
object perhaps in the heavens.
f Orionis. Very close. Difficult.
Planetary nebula.
A fine large brilliant cluster.
8 Monocerotis, 3rd class.
ft, Canis Majoris, 1st class.
Beautiful cluster of large stars.
8 Geminorum, 3rd class.
Castor, 3rd class. Superb Binary
star.
Period of revolution 262 y*»ars
Argus. Superb D. star 3rd
A very singular object. A cluster
of stars which has within it a
planetary nebula, if the 10
feet will shew it, which is
doubtful.
A beautiful planetary nebula, 12
or 15' in diam.
f Cancri. Triple 1st and 3rd
classes. The clo*e small star
revolves about the larger in
55 years.
<p 2 Cancri, 2nd class.
i Cancri. 4th class. Strongly
contrasted colours. Large
star yellow, small deep blue,
An immensely rich cluster.
A nebula 15' long in Ursa.
y Leonis. A most beautiful close
double star. Rather difficult
Binary, Period of revolution
probably about 700 years.
A beautiful planetary nebula, 40"
or 1' diameter, like Jupiter.
f Ursa* Majoris 1st class. Binary,
Period well ascertained 5&f
years. One of the most re-
markable I ). stars. Rather dif-
ficult, being only 2" apart.
9
6
Z
Auriga.
Orion.
Orion.
Orion.
Orion.
Gemini.
Monoce-
ros.
Canis
M..j.
Monoce-
ros.
Gemini.
Gemini.
Argo.
Officina
Tvpn-
graphi-
Argo.
Cancer.
Cancer. 13
Cancer. 13
Cancer.
Ursa.
Leo.
Hydra.
Ursa.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1888.]
visible in the Horizon of Calcutta.
235
■
/.
■r
.
s
1
T 9
z
B
,£■•
*3?
Description of Object.
» 2
c —
v —
/
<
O <s
6
A. m. ».
B
111130
13 56
N.
If.
66
N.
A very bright lengthened ne-
bula.
Leo.
13
•M
1216 50
62 7 S
a'
123
D.
a Crucis,2nd class. Thehrightest
Crux.
20
and most remarkable double
star in the southern hemis-
pheref. Barely rises above the
Calcutta horizon, hiirh enough
to be tolerably well seen.
t a Centauri excepted.
n
12 2/52
26 55
N
V.
24
N.
A long sword-shaped nebula.
Coma
Beren.
7
V.4
1233 3
31
S.
D.
7 Virginis. One of the most re-
markable of the Binary stars.
Period of revolution 513 years.
Close and difficult, and becom-
ing more so.
Virgo.
14
•»
12 33 56
33 2S
N.
V.
42
N.
A very long narrow nebulous
ray.
Canes
Venatici.
7
56
12 47 &
31 16
V
I).
a Cam mi. Cor. Caroli, 4 th class.
Contrasted colours.
Canes
Ven.
*
.':
12 4832
22 36
\
M.
64
N.
A nebula with a nucleus and a
black recess.
Coma
Ber.
7
sl
13 4 47
19 7
V
M.
53
©
A condensed globe of stars.
Coma J
Ber. \
7
11
SI
13 7 4
42 58 N. N
63
A very bright extended mass of
Canes
7
|
stars like the nnest dust.
Ven.
60 13
28 58 S.
A
628
©
A globular cluster suddenly con-
Centru-
19
den set 1 toward the centre to an
ms.
extraordinary degree.
M 61 1316
46 34
s.
A
440
r
« Centaun — not a star, but a
Centau-
19
very large and splendid globu-
rus.
lar cluster — the finest in the
southern hemisphere.
••62
13 22 40
48 3
N.
M.
51
©
A most wonderful object. A
globe surrounded by a dou-
ble ring of nebula. — It has a
neb. near it, as a compani-
on. It is unique in the hea-
vens.
Canes
Ven.
7
13
13 34 49
28 13
\.
M.
3
8
A much compressed cluster.
Canes
Ven.
Ursa
7
M
13 5811
55 13
N.
NT.
101
N.
A very bright nebula.
6
Maj.
69
14 10 27
57 40
s.
A'
159
D.
7 Centauri, 3rd class, 5 and 8 m,
Centau-
20
h$
14 28
60 6
s.
A'
165
D.
a Centauri, 4th class,lst and 4th
magnitudes. Distance 1 9." The
brightest double 3tar in the S.
hemisphere. Very low in the
rus.
Centau-
rus.
20
S. horizon, but may be occasi-
onally pretty well seen.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
296
Catalogue of Celestial Object*
[Mat,
<.2
t
S3
/
i \
It c
2
05
c
•-
2
j >. u
Description of Object.
II
~
i.
z •-
a & • 3?
C x
s
tf °
o~
/
<
C
<J~
i
A. w. *.
$7
14 37 34
27 48
V
D.
c Bootis. A delicate but beau-
tiful object. Small star. Blue.
1st class.
Bootis.
:
68
14 51 8
32 21
s.
A 611
Q
A star 7 8 m. with a nebulous
burr round it.
Lupus.
13
69
15 10 6
2 42
\
M. 5
©
Very compressed globular clus-
ter, diameter 7 or 8'. A fine
object.
£ Coronae.
t Lupi. An elegant D. star.
Libra,
U
70
15 32 8
37 11
Y
D.
Corona.
:
71
15 46 1
33 30
S.
A' 196
D.
Lupus.
IS
72
15 55
19 18
s.
D.
$ Scorpion is.
Scorpio.
is
73
16 6 49
22 31
s.
M. 80
©
A very compressed beautiful
globular cluster.
Scorpio.
u
••74
16 36 22
36 47
N.
M. 13
•
One of the finest and most con-
densed of all the globular
cl u s ters between n and f Her-
culis.
Herculis.
s
•75
16 ^7 18
24 7
N.
Stiuve.
Very bright planetary disc, 6" in
diameter.
Hercules.
1
•76
16 43 6
47 55
N
IV. 50
o
Very bright planetary nebula 4'
diameter.
Hercules.
1
77
16 48 22
3 49
S.
M. 10
9
Beautiful cluster of very small
stars.
Ophiu-
chus.
1
78
16 52 10
26
S,
M. 19
©
A compressed cluster, 4' or 5'
diameter.
Scorpio
orOphiu-
chus.
79
17 6 54
14 35
\.
D.
a Herculis. Contrasted colours.
Herculis.
i
90
17 9 6
18 18
s.
M. 9
©
Very large bright © of ex-
tremely small stars.
Ophiu-
chos
1
IS
•81
1713 1
4318
\.
M. 92
©
A globe of stars crowded toge-
ther beyond imagination.
Herculis.
1
82
1719 1
23 37
s.
IV. 11
o
Pretty bright, 30" diameter. A
Ophiu- S
chm. (
J
well defined planetary disc
19
83
17 23 40
44 38
s.
A 457
©
A nucleus, W* surrounded by
a nebulous atmosphere, 5' dia-
meter.
Norma et
Regula.
IS
•84
17 52 1
23 2
S.
D.N
A 1st class double star in the cen-
tre of a triple nebula. N. B.
The star is tripte.
Sagittari-
us.
IS
85
17 53 47
22 28
s
M. 21 ©
A rich cluster of large stare.
Sagittari-
IS
86
17 5514
43 38
s.
A 473 ©
!
Globular cluster, 3' diameter.
Excessively compressed at the
us.
Telesco-
pium.
centre.
•87
17 56 6
2 33
\.
D.
70 Ophiuchi. Binary ; period
of revolution about 80 years.
One of the most remarkable of
the well ascertained Binary
Ophiu-
chus.
1
88
18
66 38
N
IV. 37
35' diameter. Edges hazy.
Draco.
3
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Visible in the horizon of Calcutta.
257
•89
90
91
92
♦93
M
x O
"a
A.m.
is ;{ 48
1810 45
1819 3/
18 25 41
18 38 6
184159
— c
y o
a 4-
•95 18 4810
•96
97
•98
•♦99
100
101
102
103
104
6 50
1615
32 31
24 3
39 30
6 28
32 50
19 23 52
19 28 55
19 34 6
19 52 48
19 58 56
2015 5
20 25 17
20 38 8
20 54 56
St rave.
M. 17
M. 69
M. 22
M. 11
M. 57
27 37 N.
3120
14 33
22 20
22 24
19 33
7 10
15 29
12 1
X.
M. 55
IV. 51
M. 27
M. 75
IV. 16
I. 103
IV. 1
D.
Description of Object.
Scutum
Sobieski.
Scutum f
Sobi- \
eski. I
A very bright planetary disc, 5'
diameter.
The 10-feet will probably only
shew this as an oval nebula, but
its true shape r ■ielIHL and
it is one of the most curious
objects in the heavens.
Very bright and pretty large.
Very large globular cluster, 8'
diameter.
f Lyrae. A double — double star,
each pair, being a Binary y and
probably the whole a com-
pound quartern a ry system
a very pretty object, and very
easily found.
The cluster in Antinous.
An elliptic ring — a most singu
lar object. Is easily found, as
it lies hardly half way be-
tween and y Lyra?, and is
visible in the finder (but
barely) .
$ Cygni. A beautiful coarse D
star of finely contrasted co-
lours.
Very large rich cluster, 9* dia-
meter.
10" or IS" diameter. Considera-
bly bright.
A most extraordinary object.
A nebulous mass, shaped like
a dumb bell, and involved in
an elliptic faint atmosphere
N.B. The 10-feet reflector will
not shew the atmosphere, but
the body will be well seen.
Very bright, large, round.
45" diameter. Round, pretty
bright.
Very beautiful, large, easily re-
sol veable.
7 Delphini.
One of the largest and finest of
the planetary nebula?, near v
Aquarii, by which it is easily
found.
L L
Sagitta-
rius.
Sagitta-
rius.
Lyra.
Anti-
nous.
Lyra.
Cygnus.
Sagitta-
rius.
Sagitta-
rius.
Vulpecu-
la.
Sagit
farius,
Do.
.-..{
Delphi-
nus.
Delphi-
nus.
Aquari-
us.
15
16
B
10
10
16
Digiti
zed by G00gle
258
Description of a Compensation Barometer,
[Mat,
i =
w O
< 'S
c
— a
c
o
—
Description of Object.
1.5
■
7
ft
. *>
4) • ~
15*
OS
6
ex: w
Q~
^
<
C
t
h. m. 9.
105
20 59 17
37 55
N.
D.
61 Cygni. Binary period about
CygMfc
1
400 years. This star has a
very gTeat proper motion in
the heavens, and the two go
together.
106
2122 4
1126
N.
M.
IS
In Equuleus. A fine object.
Equule-
us.
10
107
2124 58
133
s
M.
2
©
A very condensed fine cluster.
Aquari-
It
108
2137 18
37 10 N.
A beautiful ruby star 9 m.
Cvrmis.
10
109
2219 8
55
s.
D.
£* Aquarii, 3rd class — (fine.)
Aquari-
16
__
us.
n
110
23 17 31
60 38
N.
\i.
52
*
A beautiful cluster, 12' diameter.
Cepheui.
1
111
2317 55
4136
N.
IV.
18
o
Superb planetary nebula in
Andro-
4
—
Andromeda.
meda.
112
23 30
47 36
s.
A'
251
D.
6 Phoenicia 6 and 6m. 3/'
PhcenU.
M
113
23 49 16
55 48
N.
VI.
30
Beautiful compressed rich clus-
Cmm-
4
ter.
pei*.
VIII. — Description of a Compensation Barometer t and Observations of
fP<?/ Barometers. By J. Prinsep, Sec. #c, /:'
Where a. daily register of the Barometer is kept, it becomes a sen-
ous labour to apply the correction for temperature to every observa-
tion : this inconvenience has led to the suppression of the correction alto-
gether in the tables published at the Surveyor General's office ; but who-
ever may have occasion to use these valuable meteorological records must
himself reduce the indications of the Barometric columns to the freezing
point, and therefore little is gained by omitting the correction in the
first instance.
With a stationary barometer, in a climate liable to but small and
regular alternations of atmospherical pressure, it is very easy to avoid
all this labour, by attaching a compensation tube for the adjustment
of the index point. I have been in the habit of using one with the
instrument of which a register is kept at the Assay Office, and as it is
very simple and easily made, I shall beg leave to describe it, referring
to the drawing of it in fig. 3, Plate VIII.
The height of the mercurial column in a barometer depends directlv
upon tne weignt ot tne atmosphere, and inversely upon me denary, or
specific gravity, of the quicksilver, which is liable to alteration by
Digitized by
Google
|*1P
Tension of Vapour
SO incfoj
li*>
rl/P
J(S<?
*, Dotton
U,Ur+
J£ ^.
zed by GoOgle
Digitized by
Google
1833.] and Observations on Wet Barometers. 259
change of temperature. When the accurate pressure of the air there-
fore is required, the height of the column must be reduced to what it
would be at some fixed temperature ; and the freezing point, 32* Farh.
has been universally adopted for this purpose.
Suppose, therefore, by the side of the barometer tube another truly
cylindrical tube of glass to be arranged (as in the plate), closed at its
lower end, and having mercury filled in to the same height as that in
the barometer : it is evident that this mercurial column will expand
and contract with heat and cold, (or alter its density) in the same
proportion as that within the barometer itself ; and if the scale of inches
be connected with an index-mark or sight capable of sliding on the
second— or, as it may be called, the compensation tube, so as to afford
the means of adjustment with the variable surface of the mercury within
the latter, the barometrical height will be read off at once with the requi-
site correction. It may be objected, that a different length of mercurial
column will require a different length of compensation tube ; but where,
as in India, the utmost variation of the pressure does not exceed
one inch, nor the variation of temperature, 40 degrees; the trifling er-
ror from this cause may be neglected ; for the expansion of mercury
being 0.0180 from 32° to 212°, or .0001 per degree, we have the ex-
pansion of 30 inches for 40 degrees ==.0040 X 30= .120.
ditto for 29 inches, .0040 X 29= .116.
extreme difference, .004
which is not more than the usual errors of observation.
There is another point to be attended to, however, in which the cele-
brated meteorologist Danibll was at fault, until corrected by Gat Lug-
sac. On account of the expansion of glass with heat, mercury will
appear to expand less in a glass tube than it actually does expand in the
proportion of t " lt to „»,*: that is, in the example given above, the ex-
pansion in the compensation tube of 30 inches long, for 40 degrees,
instead of .120 will only be .103 ; whereas in the barometer, which is
open to the cistern below, the height of the mercury is determined on
hydrostatic principles, and is altogether independent of the dimensions
of the glass tube. To obviate this source of error, the length of the
compensation column must be increased in the above ratio of 555 to
648, or where the barometer stands on an average at 30.000 inches, the
compensation column must have a length of 30Xiii=35.0 inches,
where the mean height is 29 inches the length will be
9 Many mountain barometers have an irory scale of correction for mean expan-
«oo of mercury and gla$$, which the makers hare probably copied from Danish/*
original scale and hare not since rectified.
/ n
Digiti
zed by G00gle
260 Description of a Compensation Barometer, [Mat,
for 29 inches 3S.8
28 ditto 32.5
27 ditto 81.3 &c.
But, should such length be inconvenient, advantage may be taken of
tubes that are not quite cylindrical, by placing the tapering end upper-
most, and calculating the effect of the excess of mercury below upon
the range of the narrower part of the column : thus, in the instrument
of which the drawing is given, 32 inches was the compensating
length required.
To prove that the indications of this instrument were equally trust-
worthy with the equated results of a common barometer, a series of
comparisons was made both with the Surveyor General's standard
instrument (through the medium of the printed register) and with an
excellent Dollond's barometer placed close to mine : the results were
as follows :
My barometer lower than Surveyor General's in June, 1832. — .043 I
in March, 1833. — *044 {
Ditto lower than a Dollond's barometer, .... in Nor. 1832. — .101 1
in April 1833. —.102 |
12 comparisons at 10 a. m. in May gave — .093 Therm. 8631
10 Ditto at 4 p.m. ditto ditto —.093 88.7/
These accordances at opposite seasons of the year are sufficient to
establish confidence in the compensation barometer. I should add, that
am indebted to Mr. Barrow, H. C. Instrument maker, for carrying
my views into practice, and adapting the slow-motion screws and clamps
in a neat and efficient manner.
While on the subject of barometers, I would take occasion to cau-
tion all observers who are in the habit of using Englbpikld's open tubes,
that they should only be filled with mercury when the air is in a very
dry state. This remark was elicited by a series of experiments made
by Lieutenant Wauoh of the Engineers, when comparing his stock of
Enolbfibld barometers, with my standard, before his departure on sur-
vey to the hills of Amerkantak.
One tube having been filled with every precaution was found to
stand 0.211 lower than the standard Barometer. It was emptied and
refilled : it then stood, — .499
a third time refilled, — .609
a fourth, — .652
a fifth, —.659
a sixth, — .653
a seventh, — .700
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] and Observation* on Wet Barometers. 261
an eighth, —.687
a ninth time, — .702
It is needless to say, that in all these cases every care was taken to
exclude air. It appears, therefore, that after filling two or three times,
the mercurial column stood nearly .70 too low. The hygrometer at
the same shewed that the aqueous tension was .60, which so nearly
agreed with the former (making allowance for capillary action), that
we had no doubt at the time that the depression was caused by mois-
ture, attracted by the tube from the air, the frequent renewal of which
allowed the surface of the glass to attain a state of hygrometric equi*
librium with the latter. That such was the case was further proved
by repeating the operation on a subsequent day, when the air was much
drier ; the hygrometer then shewing a tension of .45, the barometer stood
between .394 and .415 lower than the standard.
It is well known how pertinaciously water adheres to the surface of
glass : in damp weather an electrical machine cannot be worked unless
dried by heat ; and any glass tube, even in dry weather, if heated in one
part, will shew the presence of water by a condensation of minute glo-
bules in the colder parts of the tube. Such facts, in conjunction with
the positive testimony now adduced, prove that implicit reliance should
not be placed upon this kind of [barometer, especially for the measure-
ment of heights. The different quality of the glass may also have great
influence on the aqueous action, according to the predominance or
otherwise of alkali in its composition.
Mr. Faraday has recommended that borax should be substituted for
alkali in the composition of glass for astronomical purposes, on account
of the liability of the alkaline glasses to injury by the wet, but we have
not yet seen any notice of the result of such trial on a large scale.
Perhaps the barometrical effect now noticed might be turned to advan-
tage, as a mode of measuring the hygrometrical quality of glasses of
different founts. Of five dry tubes of the same bore, filled together
and placed upright in the same reservoir of mercury, no two were found
to agree together, whereas upon wetting the interior of the same
tubes, they then agreed very well together, and (after making correction
for the aqueous tension corresponding to the temperature of the mercury)
also very nearly coincided with the standard barometer, without any
allowance for capillarity.
This circumstance suggested an easy and certain method of turning
the tubes to account in the survey, namely, to use them always wet and
make the necessary addition. The most defective and dirty tube
might in this way be rendered as serviceable as the cleanest, and I
Digiti
zed by G00gle
262 Asiatic Society. [Mat,
would certainly recommend those who possess such tubes to use them
in this manner. It is besides much easier to free them from air. All
that is necessary being to fill the tubes first with water that has been
well boiled, and then to pour in the mercury, allowing it to drive out
the water as far as possible before inverting the tubes. The tempera-
ture must be accurately noted at the time of registering.
Lieutenant Waugh has promised me a series of observations with
the wet barometer, which I hope ere long will be forthcoming.
IX. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society,
Wednesday Evening, 29th May, 1833.
The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Calcutta, in the Chair.
The Proceedings of the last meeting were read.
Mr. W. M. Manuk, proposed by Babu Ram Comul Sen, seconded by
Mr. D. Hare, was elected a Member by ballot
Some matters of account were referred to the Committee of Papers.
The Secretary brought up the Report of the Committee of Papers, on the
manuscripts of the late Mr. Moorcroft, put at the Society's disposal by Go-
vernment in January last. It recommended the whole to be transmitted to
England to be published, either the whole or a copious digest, on account of
the Society, under the charge of Professor Wilson, who had kindly proffered
his services in arranging the matter for the press before his departure. Mr.
Trebeck, brother of the companion of Mr. Moorcroft 's travels, had also pre-
sented the whole of his brother's journals, letters, and drawings, in order that
the valuable information contained in them might be incorporated in the
proposed digest, on consideration of his receiving 12 copies of the printed
work. The meeting adopted the suggestion of the Committee, and an offer
from Lieutenant Burnesto convey them to England was accepted with thanks.
Library.
The following books were presented :
Roxburgh's Flora Indies, 1st and 2nd vols. — by Captain Jama* Roxburgh, am ike
pert qf himself and brother, editor* qf the wort.
Journal Asiatique, No. SS—from the Asiatic Society qf Paris.
Chezy's Sacountala ; Sanskrit text and French translation — by the Translator.
Notice de l'ouvrage intitule* 'Lettre a M. Abel Remusat — by the Baron Hum*
boldt.
* Baron Sylvestre de Sacy's Recherches, sur les contes des mille et une nuits—
by the Author.
Ferussac's Bulletin Universe], 1827-28-29, 36 vo\b.— presented by Mr. F. Corbyn,
in the name qf Dr. Bogie.
* The letter accompanying the above three works was dated in 1830, they were pra*
bably detained a long time in England on their way.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833 J Asiatic Society. 263
Stirling's Cursory Notices on the Isle of France, 1%27—bytke Author.
Meteorological Registers for March and April — by the Surveyor General.
From the Society's Booksellers : —
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia, — History of England, vol. iii.
Ditto ' Military Commanders, vol. iii.
A letter was read from Captain F. Jenkins, presenting a Banna manu-
script from Lwkya, in the dialect of the Komtis, the tribe who possess that
part of Assam.
Antiquities.
Lieutenant Barnes exhibited to the Meeting his collection of ancient
coins made between Cabul and Bokhara, and an explanatory note was read
by the Secretary.
Two papers were read by Lieutenant Burnesin further elucidation of the
same subjects.
1. On the Tope or mound of Manikyala, and other similar topes in the
Panjdb.
2. Account of a sect calling themselves the descendants of Alexander the
Great in the valley of the Oxus.
[These will appear in a future number.]
Physical.
The following donations for the geological cabinet were presented :
1. A fragment of a large fossil bone from Jabalpur — by Dr. Spilsbury.
In connection with the same subject Dr. Row writes from Benares, that he has
despatched under charge of Mr. Colley a box containing a further supply of JabaU
pkr fossil bones.
Doctor Spilsbury has since had the good fortune to make a further enviable dis-
eovery at a place about 60 miles from Jabalpur, — the jaw of a fossil elephant with the
teeth quite perfect. It remains to be seen whether this interesting specimen belongs
really to the elephant or to some of the gigantic quadrupeds of the same genus
brought to our knowledge by the great Cuvier ; the Mastodon of America, which
is supposed to occur in no other part of the world ; the hippopotami* of Peru j or
the rhinoceros of northern Asia.
Dr. Row has forwarded the section and plan alluded to by Dr. Spilsbury in his
communication read to the Society at the meeting of March last.
The following specimens from Arracan — by Mr. H. Waiters, acting com-
1. Two bottles of water procured by Lieut. Mackintosh from a thermal
spring found near the top of the Aeng^nss.
2. A bottle of mineral oil or naphtha, from Ramree.
3. A few specimens of rocks picked up at Ramree and the Aengptm.
4. Coal from the Sandowy district.
The red hill of Ramree is composed of red clay iron, enclosing nodules of stea-
tite, of a light grey colour, black streaked steatitic iron oxyd resembling haematite
and a conglomerate of felspar and quartz pebbles. At the foot of the hill occurs
silicioos breccia, which appears as if it had been an infiltration of silicious veins
in the crevices of the red clay which was subsequently crumbled or washed away,
the interstices being now filled with common mud.
Digitized by
Google
&4 Asiatic Society. [Mat,
Iron inhie8W«i«woTl^ont1ici8l«ndofRamrecbytiieBimD«8e, andtheneUl
was highly prized ; but it has been driven out of the field by the cheapness of Eag-
lish iron in all the bazars.
The limestones and corals of Arracan are deserving of attention ; line might
be burnt and sent to Calcutta at a cheaper rate than that paid for the Silhet lane.
-The sandstone of Ramree is of a softer nature than the best of Chunar ; it re-
sembles the Mtrzapur quarry, and is well adapted for minute and sharp scalp***.
The specimens from the Aong pass are quartz rock, indurated day, and daooav
posed talc-schist A coarse granular limestone is stated to be very common in the
Sandowy district.
The coal from the Kingtellie circle in the same district, is a very rich lignite,
shewing the woody structure in great perfection : it has a spec grav. 1308, indgini
out much bitumen and gas on ignition. The coke was small in quantity but good.-
Composition. Volatile matter, 66.4
Carbon, 330
Ash, **
100.0
One specimen of coal mixed up with silicious matter is said by Mr. Waltm to
form the substance of an entire bill.
Of the mineral water, one bottle was found to be perfectly pore, ep. gr. lMt
and not acted on by tests : the other contained a large deposit of yellow ochreoei
silt.
Specimens of coal discovered in the lower range of hills in the North
Moradabad district— by Mr. E. J. Ravenshaw, collector, Bijnore.
The following extracts from Mr. Ravenshaw's letters illustrative of this
discovery, and of the presence of gold in the streams of his district were
read.
Him&layan Coal.
" I had lately an opportunity of paying a rapid visit to the source of the cod of
which I lately sent a specimen to the Society. From Judpur, a town about 10
miles east of the Ramgvnga, I gallopped about 18 miles to L&ldkong, a village it the
foot of the lower range of hills, and situated on the banks of the Phika NadL The
latter nine miles of the road lay through the forest, which abounds with tigers,
wild elephants and other animals. In the evening I proceeded on an elephant three
or six miles along the foot of the hills in an easterly direction to Mohra Dktk, t
Tillage situated at the point where the ri?er Dhila issues from the hills. We triced
the river about a mile within the hills, and the nyarioM (gold-washers) whom I
had previously deputed to explore these regions, pointed out in several direct**!
thin seams of coal, varying from one to four inches broad, running along benms
ledges of sandstone, which was covered with a white substance (decomposed py-
rites ?) The coal is also coated with a yellow substance (iron pyrites), and smelh
strongly of sulphur when burned.
About a mile up the river we came to a precipice about 200 feet high, comfort
of a heterogeneous mixture of sand, clay, and stones, (from the specimen sent it
a conglomerate with calcareous cement.) It was of various colour s r e d, MniaV
green, but the white coating predominated over all.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
ISM.} Asiatic Society. 3«
Thai rains fad washed down manes of the hill, and among these we found a great
deal of the coal, in fact it seemed to abound here more than in any other part. The
as arise whom we sent np to scale the precipice, brought down their kamarbande full
ef it. The next morning I rode about four or fire miles up the PhUa Nodi, and
fond the coal in similar situations, in veins stratified with sandstone, and occaai-
owafly conglomerate rocks. In the evening I explored the Chala Nodi to the west
of the Pkika, and found several large veins in the face of a perpendicular rock of
the same description. I send specimens of the several varieties : — some appear to
he mere lignite, but others are genuine coal. It is found however in such narrow
veins as to give but little promise of a profitable application. The natives tell me,
that it is round in almost all the rivulets up to Hardwar, wherever the lower range
is c o mposed of hatha (unripe) materials : they call it momyat, and use it as a me*.
dkine for curing wounds, and as an infallible remedy for Cholera I for the latter
purpose they pound up about half an inch square of it, and mixing it with a lota
foil of warm milk, drink it off."
The specimens of coal sent down by Mr. Ravenshaw are all nearly of the same
character, strongly impregnated with sulphuret of iron, which forms thin fibres
streaking some of them, and passes into thick masses of pyrites decomposing in
Others : — a dean lump had a specific gravity of 1.968 in consequence, and the re-
sidual aah was principally iron oxyd ; it burns with good flame, does not coke,
and retains sulphur enough to ignite spontaneously after being charred.
Volatile matter, 35.4
Carbon, # 50.0
Ferruginous ash, 14.6
100.0
Gold*.
Mr. Ravenshaw in other communications of a recent date, mentions a discovery
that all the rivers and streams descending from the same range of hills are im-
pregnated with gold. The river in which it is most abundant is the Koh, which
flows a few miles to the east of Naginah, and falls into the Ramgunga, four or fire
miles below Sheahdi. "There are two parties of ngariae or gold -workers on
this river, one at Kot,k&&r, twelve miles from Kot t dwar, whence the Koh issues
from the hills, and the other about ten miles lower down opposite to Barapura.
At the former the ngariae pay 50 rupees per mensem to the zemindar, and at the
utter 30 rupees. At Lakherghaut on the Romgunga, about four miles from the
bills, another party is established, and a fourth to the eastward at Amangarh on the
hanks of the Phika Nadi, s tributary of the Romgunga.
* IV reader will find some valuable remarks on the gold of the Rafflireuxa tributaries
by Captain Herbert, in his notice of Himalayan minerals printed in the Phfical
Ueeaarckee Aeiatie Society. He notices the same carious lact of no gold being disv
covered in these streams until they enter the lowermost range of hills :— he also men-
6eas having a specimen of the gold in its parent rock, but properly concludes that
•Jthoagh we may be certain of the existence of the metal within this range, we must
pafientiy wait until the progress of population and industry shall press upon the hitherto
unexplored resources of the mountains ere we reap the advantage of our knowledge.
An individual might be ruined in the search, unless indeed some lucky chance should
give him a prise in the mining lotterav
M M
Digiti
zed by G00gle
266 Asiatic Society. [Mat,
In the abort rivers the gold is found at all periods of the year, but in the Dkdk,
about 10 miles to the eastward, it is only found in the rains. The nyorlot live at
Khetoroli, about seven miles north of KdtipUr • but the site of their researches is
about six miles higher up the river, between SheonAthpur and the hills. A tax of
2rs. 8ans. is levied upon each katouti or washing-trough, which (in the absence of
any other xemmddr) is paid to Government. The gold found in this stream is said
to be of a finer quality than that of any of the other rivers.
In the rivers to the eastward of the Dhtia, viz. the Kosillah, Dabka, Ac. no gold
has been discovered ; I have no means of ascertaining whether it exists in thesaadi
of the rivers in the Barelly district.
It is evident that these golden sands must have a source, and as they bsve
probably flowed for centuries from the mountains it is presumable that source is
extensive. The uniformity also with which it is found in all the streams from the
Gang** to the KotUlah where it ceases, seems to indicate the existence of a vein of
ore more or less interrupted, co-extensive with the above limits. Gold-dust is
found on the other side of the Himalaya also : the Bhotia* bring it with their
borax from Htmdit, where it forms the currency under the name ofphatang, (s
small lump of gold-dust melted into a lump, value eight rupees.) I have employed
an intelligent ntjarla to search the small rivers to their source in the first or second
range of hills, to wash the sand and mark where the gold-dust ceases, and to bring
away specimens of the rock on either side. He is also instructed to look for coal."
A minute portion of gold is found in the sands of most rivers, but it is seldom
plentiful enough to make it worth the labour of extraction. In the Indus, the ht-
wadi, the Ningthi, and the Brahmup&tra rivers,' the process of washing is practised
with success, but it can only be undertaken where labour is cheap. A specimen of
the washed sediment extracted from 40 maunds of the sand of the Brmhmapitrt,
lately sent by Mr. W. Cracroft, weighed 396 grains ; from this the magnet separated
147.3 grains of magnetic oxyd of iron : the remainder digested in boiling nitio*
muriatic acid yielded 1.9 grains of gold, in value about 2$ annas.
Specimens of the limestone rocks of Sehwan and of the banks of Indst
at and east of Tatta, of the Jesalmir yellow limestone, and of the bituminous
limestone of Persepolis — by Lieut. A. Burnes.
The limestone of the Indus resembles much that of the Silket hills : — it appears
also to contain shells : the specimen from the top of the Sehwan mountains b more
crystalline, and of a yellow colour like that of Je*almir t of which a description is
given in the Gleanings, vol. iii. p. 108.
The limestone of Persepolis, used for most of the buildings of that ancient
town, is of a dull brown colour and sera icon choidal fracture ; it emits when rubbed
a strong bituminous smell.
Specimen of the granite of Abu in Quzerat, and of limestone between
the Ojbus and Bokhdra — by the same.
The latter is an oolitic limestone, the first which has been discovered in India,
of fine small grains about as large as mustard-seed. It is compact and capable of
being quarried.
Belemnites from the eastward of the Aral, and a small fossil bivalve from
Bokhdra— by the same.
The shells are converted into a solid of white marble ; they are used in medians
by the Persians ; the under valve is worn round as if from grinding.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Miscellaneous. 267
Specimen of the Indus Coal— ty the tame, from Kohat near Peshdwar.
The following note on the subject by Lieut Burnes was read:
Peshdwar Coal.
On my arrival in the plains of Peshawar in March 1832, 1 made various inqui-
ries from the Doorani chiefs of the country regarding coal and other minerals.
They did not comprehend the meaning of coal, but Peer Muhamud Khan, the
chief, who holds Cokut on the southern boundary of the plain, informed me that
there were wells in the petroleum or naphtha in Cohut, and that the people
wed the substance in lamps instead of oU. He also told me that within these
few months, the villagers had found that the stones near these pits were
sraOahfe as fuel. At my request he despatched a messenger, and brought the spe-
cimen of coal which I now present to the Society. It has been taken from the
wrfaee, and can give therefore no correct idea of the substrata further than proving
that coal exists in the neighbourhood. The coal is slaty and of a greyish-brown
colour, it readily ignites at the candle and emits a sulphureous smell.
The discovery of a coal-mine at the head of the Indus may prove of the utmost
importance in these times, since the navigation of that river is open from the sea to
the town of Attok, which is only forty miles distant from the deposit An excellent
mad intervenes, and Peshawar is a large city where labour is cheap.
It is a singular circumstance, that coal should have been discovered both at the
mouth and head of the Indus (in Cuteh and Cokut) within these few years, and
since steam has been used in India. It is seldom that discoveries are so well-timed,
tad I trust that they augur favorably for the opening of a new route of commerce
by the Indus.
The Indus coal is little better than bituminous shale— slaty and dull in structure
tod appearance : specific gravity 1.670 : burning freely in a candle— not coking,
sad leaving a large quantity of brown earth on incineration. Its composition
on analysis proved to be,
Volatile matter, 37.0
Carbon, 6.2
Earthy matter 56.8
100.0
It is most probable that where this shale is met with, coal of a superior quality
may also be found.
X. — Miscellaneous.
1.— Rustic Bridge. PL X.
Hie accompanying is from a hasty sketch, taken in the April of 1831. It represents
one of two bridges similarly constructed, which were thrown across the Jamna, at
» place where that river is divided into two branches by an island. These bridges
were for the convenience of communication to some iron-smelting works, situated
on the right bank of the river, at some distance below the bridge erected by Major
Youwe, where the Simla and Massuri road crosses the Jamna.
As there is ingenuity displayed in their rough Shakesperian mode of construe;
tkm, I am induced to send you this sketch, which I trust is sufficiently intelligible
to supersede the necessity of a description. No rope was employed, the different
M M 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
268 Miscellaneous. [Mat;
parts being bound and suspended by strong twisted witbes. The bridges were as
may be supposed very vibratory, but were sufficiently strong to admit of the mil
men carrying their loads of iron or charcoal across them with safety.
If this short notice of a somewhat ingenious and picturesque object » worm
publishing in the Jouenal of thb Asiatic Society, it is very much at yoor ser-
vice.
Not*. — We are always happy to give insertion to notices of this nature, and
especially of the simple inventions and processes of the natives. In the present case,
we regret that our correspondent has not given us the dimensions and spaa of his
rustic bridge.
2.— Remark* on the Paper on the TrieecHon of an Angle in No. 14 of the ** Joum-
NAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY."
The difficulty of the problem is touched on in the second proposition of the
paper in question, which is as follows : " To draw the base of a triangle so that of
the interior angles at the base, one shall be double of the other, the vertical angle
of the triangle being a given rectilinear angle, greater than half a right angle.**
The construction, is, to take B F=2 B A, inflect A C=3 A B, from the point
A on B C, and make B C=B F|F C. The writer has failed, as he admits,
in his first attempted demonstration of this construction, nor in his supplementary
emendation of it is he more successful. The phrase " which it does not" in line
12th, and repeated in line 14th, is mere assertion ; the eighteen following lines are
superfluous; for if the angle KD G is a right angle, the question is settled.
A numerical example or two will perhaps be the easiest way of convincing Mr.
Morrieson of his failure.
Suppose then B=90° B G A is by hypothesis 30* and calling A B=l A G
wffl be equal to 2, and B G=v^4— 1— •3=17320508 j but A C=3, B C= V*-l
^=^=2-8284271 andB F=2 to B C— B F=*8284271, * of which is -2761423,
and this taken from 2, leaves 1*723577, the length of B G by Lt. Morrieson's shew-
ing ; but it ought to be 17320508.
If B be taken=45, the limit of Mr. M.'s problem B G will come out by Mr. M.'s
constructional 65363908, but it ought to be 1*4142136.
If 60 be taken, the difference is smaller again ; B G ought to be 1*53207, where-
as Lt Morrieson's construction makes it 1542579, &c. On the whole the method is
a very good mechanical rule for trisecting an angle; mathematical solution it is not.
Mr. M. has hit on the difficulty in the problem which is " to draw the base of a
triangle, so that of the angles at the base one shall be double of the others."— la
different words, the problem comes to this, " To draw a line G A such that G D
shall be equal to the radius of the circle which has B as a centre and B A as a
radius," and this rule will answer in all cases where B is equal to 45, O and A
coincide when greater D mils between A and G, when less D falls beyond A, and
further from G 1 .
But the problem is not to be solved by straight lines and circles : if a conchoid
(pi. iz. fig. 2) having A for its pole and B C for its assymptote be described, it vil
cut the circle A D E in the points D, D' and D" and straight lines joining these points
with A, or their extensions will form with B G triangles B G A, B G'A, BG"
A, &c. of the species required. This follows from the nature of the curre, in
which G D is a constant quantity, and here equal to B D the radios of A D E.
D £ drawn parallel to I H gives I £ an arc which measures | of A B C D* tf
Digitized by
Google
W33.] Miscellaneous. 269
gives H E* which measures J of A B C the supplement of the former and D" E"
gives H E'=§ A B H considered as valued at B or of J (A B 1+1 8). The point A
corresponds in some degree to a pole and D, D', and D" if joined from an equila-
teral triangle, as a little consideration will shew.
JVAtW, 27th March, 1833. L. D.
Cast. Alfbxd Bueton, if I am not mistaken, employs for the trisection of an
angle a eardwide of which the generating circle is E A D and the constant quantity
A B. This curve at any rate answers very well, as will be evident on construction.
3. — New Patent Improved Piano-Forte.
Mr. T. Loud, jun. of Philadelphia has invented a new and useful improvement
in the horisontal Piano Forte, whereby the tone is greatly improved, the instru-
ment is less subject to get out of tune, and the strings are less liable to break, for
which invention and improvement he has taken out a patent.
The improvement consists in placing either the action above the strings, or the
itrings and bridges turned upside down above the action. So that the hammer in
striking the string shall act in the direction of the bridge, instead of as at present in
an opposite direction. Upright Piano Fortes, it may be noticed, are already in
possession of this improvement. — Arcana of Science and Art.
We are not disposed to consider this improvement (for an improvement it is, as
fiu as tone is concerned) stall efficacious in preventing the instrument going out of
tunc Erery one who knows any thing of the Piano knows that it is by the
supping of the round iron pegs in their wooden sockets that a piano gets out of
tune ; the extraordinary thing is that for an evil the source of so much vexation
tad annoyance no remedy should have been yet discovered for, or we should rather
sty applied by the trade : the remedy is in reality as obvious, as is the interest of
that trade to avoid applying it. We have seen the piano of a gentleman in Cal-
cutta much strengthened and improved by the adaptation of a cast-iron case to the
front block in which the pegs are inserted ; in fact if the whole frame could be made
of a triangle of cast-iron, the piano would be infinitely more durable than it is at
present, although it is probable that its tone might be prejudiced.
, We must confess, however, that within the last few years, many real improvements
have been introduced in the adaptation of the Piano to the vicissitudes of our In-
dian climate : the metal bars, thrown across in the direction of the strain, tend ma-
terially to prevent the instrument form warping, and by themselves expanding and
contracting with heat and cold in the same ratio nearly as the wires, they keep the
latter under an uniform tension, and consequently always in tune ; whereas those
Kanos, which depend upon a wooden frame alone, require to be tuned with every
change of weather. Another real improvement in small Pianos has been the introduc-
tion of the metal plate, to which all the wires are attached : the advantages gained by
thai construction are twofold, the sounding board is left free underneath, and the
brings of the upper octaves are deprived of that long neutral space between the
fixed pegs and the bridge, which always caused the upper notes of these instruments
to flatten much faster than the lower octaves. In fact, the liability to stretch or
dip, and the chance of flaws or imperfection of elasticity (which are the only causes
of getting oat of tune), being in direct proportion to the length of wire, every wire
•hottld nave the same proportion beyond the bridge to maintain uniform tune. Some
makers have ingeniously made use of the tail pieces of the wires, in grand pianos, to
produce a doubling of the tone j the wires beyond the bridge have precisely the
•nine length to the fixed pegs as before the bridge, or within the action : on raising
Digiti
zed by G00gle
270 Miscellaneous. [Mat,
by means of a pedal the damper that usually covers them, the sob ad will be dou-
bled by the reciprocal vibration of the extra strings : the thought has much ingenui-
ty, and all that can be urged against it is that the bulk of the instrument is tome*
what increased, and with it the chances of derangement and getting out of tune.
4. — Specific Gravity of Metallic Alloy*.
In the second number of Brewster's Journal N. S. are some curious results
obtained in experiments on the melting points and densities of different alloys, by
M. Kupffer. It appears that in every proportion of tin and lead from one of tin
with one of lead, to one of tin with four -of lead, and from one of tin one of lead to
six of tin one of lead, there was expansion, i. e. the specific gravity of the alloy was
found to be less than that given by calculation. At two of tin one of lead, and still
more at three of tin one of lead, the difference was trifling ; and as the difference in-
creased each way it was conjectured that at some intermediate proportion between
those two, the resulting specific gravity would agree with the calculation. It was
found that one volume of lead to two of tin gave a specific gravity almost exactly
that of calculation.
In amalgams of tin and mercury, again, contraction was found to take place ; it
being null when one combining volume of tin was added to two of mercury. In
amalgams of lead and mercury the least contraction is found when one combining
volume of lead is united to three of mercury.
The following melting points were observed :
Centigrade Fahrenheit.
Lead, 334°
Tin, 230
Tin 5 primes, Lead 1 prime, 194
4 „ I „ 189
3 „ 1 , 186
2 „ 1 196
1 „ 1 „ 241
1 „ 3 , 289
2 volumes, 1 volume, 194
These temperatures were determined by noting the weight of mercury driven out
of a small bulb furnished with a capillary tube, in the same manner as practised by
Messrs. Dulong and Petit. They will therefore require some correction,. p.
5.— Proportion of Recent and FoeeU Shell*.
The following notice of the numbers of known species of recent Testaceous
Molluscs and of Fossil shells is taken from Loudon's Magasine of Natural History.
Testaceous Mullusca of the present world,
Species of British Fossil shells,
Simple
unival-
1961
401
Bivalves
and mul
tivalves.
874
634
MultuV
cular
univalves
58
230
TotaL
Of the 1265 Fossil Species, the following is the distribution.
1st Division, 1st Section, Carboniferous
order of Mr. Conybeare,
1st Division, 2nd Section, to the Lias in-
clusive,
2nd Division, from the Lias upward to the
Chalk inclusive,
3rd Division, Tertiary Beds above the
Chalk,
27
80
33
9
38
50
106
375
139
259
141
8
1265
140
97
408
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Miscellaneous.
271
• T%e author of this paper draws the conclusion " that in proportion as we descend
the vast series of deposits that overspread this portion of the earth, so do We recede,
step by step, from the circle of existing organised beings, and from the phenomena
attendant on their structure, their habits, and their adaptations." D.
& — Table of the Length* in British Milt* of the Degrees of Latitude and Longitude
from 0*. to SO , with tike Area* bounded bg them in Square Mile:
.3
No. of
No. of
$
o
miles in
a
miles in
b
jm
a Meridi-
Mean.
a Lon-
Mean.
Soma of
is
2
c
onal De-
gree.
Logarithm
gitudinal
Degree.
Logarithm
a + b
a 8
. s
2*
«•
68.7160
68.4870
68.7177
1.8370706
68.3983
1.8350434
3.6721139
4700
9
687196
68.3097
68.7214
1.8370895
68.2107
1.8338544
3.6709439
4687
10
68.7233
68.111$
687254
1.8371147
68.0025
1.8326217
36696364
4673
11
68,7276
67.8933
687298
1.8371463
67.7736
1.8310631
3.6682094
4658
12
687321
67.6540
687346
1.8371779
67.5242
1.8294582
3.6666361 4641
13
687372
67.3944
68.7398
1.8372095
67.2543
1.8277181
36649276
4623
14
687425
67.1143
687453
1.8372411
66.9641
1.8258414
3.6630835
4603
16
687483
66.8139
687519
1.8372790
66.6536
14)238262
36611062
4582
16
687643
66.4933
687574
10)373169
66.3229
1.8216642
36589811
4560
17
687606
66.1525
687640
1.8373611
66.9720
1.8193597
36567208
4536
18
687676
657915
637710
1.8374053
65.6010
1.8169105
3.6543158
4511
19
687745
654106
687782
1.8374496
65.2103
1.8143142
36517637
4485
20
687830
65.0100
687858
1.8375001
64.7998
1.8116750
3.6490751
4467
91
687897
645896
687937
1.8375506
64.3695
1.8086768
36462374
4428
22
687977
64.1495
68.8019
1.8376011
63.9197
1.8056368
36432379
4398
23
66.8061
63^900
638104
1.8376516
63.4505
1.8024316
3.6400832
4366
94
6&8147
63.2111
638191
1.8377084
62.9620
1.7990785
36367869
4333
26
638236
627130
638283
1.8377669
62.4544
17956603
36333255
4296
96
68.8328
62.1969
638375
1.8378219
61.9978
1.7918871
3i897090
4268
V
6U8422
61.6597
68.8470
1.8378850
61.3823
17880410
36259260
4226
28
63.8619
61.1050
6a8568
1.8379481
60.8183
17840321
3.6219802
4188
99
68.8618
60.5316
68.8669
1.8380112
60.2356
17796561
36178673
4148
80
6a8720
59.9996
ffote.— The above table was compiled in the Surveyor General's Office, and will be
fowl of great ase to Revenue Surveyors, fee. as it comprehends the latitude of all parts
of the plain of India.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
272
Meteorological RegUter.
[Mat, 1833.
1
if
i
2 c.
1
I 1
•runi.».\;4
•aooN
•liuiujow
■ihiuin;*
•Sarajojv
isi^?.J' o " ,0,o M ,a il"3sSg.i-3' s ai 1s £
E
1
lli 1
a w o o o
* ? " ? "3 "3 '2 a "3 4: * • -2 "3*-
2g-
E =
uiwtflcc^fe; dw dwEoi - d « - dfc 6 ? •* d d i a 4u6usaSo5
«5«*6^*zddcJd<5Wrf.'(5jrfd dfcgaSw 4 d d *■/ / I rf
lit
If*
o — *^
fit
i m
I IE
III
IM
itsassisssRBssusssass^MMMM
— 5 *-3
8 !«r
Sift
J. if
■m m «■ i\- t f ^ c 'i w i <s S r, :'^ e, 5 K i ,N - c sob-* c«c*O(N!0cn«3<fl«t>.ci>.sfl ^^Sl!
■ '~ — ^r= 1 |I|
n -vf* jy
-r — ^■o«ooi'-eo^nnc9C4«not(No>io«c90( V -»-.*<« ole*-* as »© « p^I*
3 1 «
It 'J 01 JV
3 Nil
II*
)t q -x»w ggfeggg&ggaaa&laaaaaaafcgafcgs&ggglg i|||
■h-touv MSSagg$"ag"g"g"SgM3g83g"gSg&S££g«S
tii ntiii ut iv Sfi i 2J S3 O 2? E? « C? 5 * S * « * S * S = S P ? 35 £? a S ^" S t
mnmiuiN ggS2SRi^*r:Ri"5*"ri£SSSSS^eS2Sg3S"&&S
» - », ,v §iSSip.2gHgp.iiiliill5ll^3f ?5
I3JJ
R
* -J » jv
IJ.P.P.ip.iiiSiliP.lilli P.83I8I51 1 3 j J J'
•»-*onv IlilgglgliggSSgsgiiiigigiiiRiii | \t ] j
K*T|ft?V
•qiuoui
3SSS5Simsg&8BS5S398£3i!S9SS$93
- « w * « w t*ao as e — e* e* » «n « t^.» o-.
KsasaasMaM
« - £" « & «i
1 1«|
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JO URNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 18.— June, 1833.
L — On the Marriage Rites and Usages of the Jdts of Bharatpur.
By GLTE Lushington, Esq. C. S. K *
[Read at the Meeting of the AaUtic Society, March 27, 183a. J
In Hie mcmth of May, 1832, the present Raja of Bharatpur*, Bal-
waht Singh, was married to a daughter of the Bechore Raja, a Jat
chief, of a very respectable family residing near Gwalior,
Though there is no mention of the Bechore Rajas in the " Ayeen
JD&eri" nor in any English work on India, that I am acquainted with,
I tin assured by the Bharatpur ministers and other respectable natives
Skat the Bechore Princes once possessed territories in the neighbour-
of Gwalior, which yielded an annual revenue of from three to
r lakhs of rupees. They add that the greater part of these territo-
now in the hands of the Sindia family, and that the present
» Raja has only a small Jagfr of about fifteen thousand ru-
1 annum.
ftpur Raja was betrothed in 1824 (Samvat 1881J, to the
b, by his father, the late Baldbo Singh, and under
' circumstances the marriage would have been solemnized many
je*s ago. The Hindu law indeed censures the delay of marriage
(for females) beyond 10 years, but the Bharatpur Jats as " Baran-
Smkdrs qp a mixed caste, deriving their origtnf and military habits
4 Then 14 years of age.
t Socfc Is the tradition of the Bharatpur Jats themselves. They assert their
(•parioni) descent from the famous or fabulous Bijjei Pal of Bi6na t regarding
**ote power, riches, and extent of dominion, many curious tales are still current /-
among them. In the " Bijsi-Pal Rasa," a metrical romance or ballad (writtevho
toUry Bhaiha), the Hindu scholar will find a full and particular account oft)
N N
Digiti
zed by G00gle
274 On the Marriage Rites and Usages [Jrai,
from the Lunar (VhandravansiJ race of Rajputs, and possessing at
the same time the patient industry, agricultural skill, and religious
laxity of the Sddra or servile classes, do not strictly adhere t° Ac
minutiae of Hindu law. Whilst they retain many parts of the ancient
ritual they omit others, and substitute in their place peculiar forms and
usages (as will be noticed hereafter), which though evident innovations
are held, by them, in the highest esteem.
But in this particular case the delay alluded to arose not from Jit
laxity. It was owing in the first place to the untimely death of the
late Raja Baldeo Singh, and the troubles arising out of that event;
which were terminated only by the capture of Bharatjmr, in January
1826, and the restoration of his son Balwant Singh, a minor, to the
maenad; and secondly, to the domestic intrigues and contentions
which took place at the capital between the Mdjt or Ram mo-
ther and the Regent ministers, as to the selection of a G4r& or
spiritual adviser for the young Raja. The Maji is eldest wile
of the late Raja, and step-mother of the present Raja; and as she
once had the reputation of possessing some ability, the Supreme
Government nominated her in the first instance to the office of Regent.
Her subsequent conduct however speedily did away with the favor-
able opinion entertained of her. It soon became evident that any
portion of talent or acuteness which she might once have possessed,
was neutralised by the lasting effects of a vicious education, and by a
more than ordinary share of feminine caprice and weakness. Being
naturally of a violent and imperious temper the possession of power
appeared, day by day, to strengthen and augment the worst features of
her character, until it at last led her to the commission of acts alike
injurious to her own reputation and ratal to the interests confkle<Hp
her. *
Remonstrances and exhortations having been in vain addressed to
her by the British Government, it became necessary to place the ad-
ministration of Bharatjmr affairs in other hands. The Rani was
accordingly removed from the office of Regent, (a suitable establish-
great Hinda monarch, who is fabled to hare conquered Raja Jomeswa*, the
lather of Pirthu Raj, the celebrated Chouhan king of Delhi, and to hare roled
despotically over the whole of India. The Kekoli* Raja too, boasts his descent
from Bijki Pal, and if any faith can be placed in a " BansaoW or genealogical
" tree," he has a fair claim to the benefits, real or imaginary, resulting there-
from. Abulfazl has a short and pithy sentence regarding the " BatuaoHi."
" And all of these tribes now carry in their hands genealogical tables lor ages
I ck."— Gladwin' t Aye en Aiberl, vol. ii. p. 399.
I • He Is a Chandraponti R*jp*t*
zed by G00gle
1833.3 - of tU Jdt* of Bjuuratpwr. > j27*
jnent being assigned her in the M*hdl or inner apartments,) and the
old ministers of the Raja appointed to succeed her. Of these, the
Dewdn, or principal minister, Jxwahir Lal, was fortunately a person
of considerable knowledge and experience in business, having held the
Dewdm with distinguished honor to himself and advantage to the
state during the reign of Ran jit, Ramdhan, and Baldbo Sinoh.
By his prudent and equitable measures tranquillity was speedily restored
and the old system of management re-established.
Bat though the Hani, as above stated, had been formally removed
from the Regency, she never relinquished her hopes of a return to
power. After repeatedly attempting to blacken the character of the
Regent ministers, and as often failing in her attempts, as the charges
advanced by her proved on investigation to be entirely groundless, she
determined to change her plan of attack, and to apply all the means at
her disposal to the establishing such an influence on the mind of the
young Prince as would eventually throw him into her hands. With a
view to this end she revived a story which she had herself invented
and circulated when Regent, of the Raja's initiatory necklace* having
been tied on by a favourite priest and emissary of her own, by name
S»i ' Ram ; and on the strength of this story, she asserted the right of
this person to be elected Gdrd or spiritual adviser to the Raja,
well knowing that if she could effect this object, she would secure to
herself the greatest spiritual and political influence, and become de
facto mistress of the state.
The Regent ministers on the other hand had from the first attested
that the pretensions of Par obit Sri' Ram to the Gurtiship were
altogether false and ridiculous ; that the father of the Raja had ac-
tually selected as Gdrd for his child the superior of the very temple
of which this Sri' Ram was the mere Ptijari or officiating priest;
that, the circumstance of Sri' Ram's being a Pdjari was a sufficient
refutation of his claim ; as the Mehant or superior of a temple, alone,
was qualified for the office of Gdrd , and that in addition to these
proofs, Hari Das, the superior in question, was still living, and de-
posed that he had tied on the necklace with his own hands during the
life time, and in the presence of Baldbo Singh.
* The ceremony of tying on the necklace is performed when the 06r4 is se-
lected ; the CMla, or disciple, being then an infant. This is preparatory, and in-
tended to show that a selection has been made. When the disciple has arrived at
the prescribed age, the ceremony of initiation is completed by the G&r&i pro-
nouncing the " (r4r Mantra" or mystical charm in the ears of the Chila t who
thereby becomes a twice-born, or regenerated man.
N N 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$?$ On the Marriage Rkes and Usage* fJrw«;
To this statement, a flat denial was given by the Rami and her
favourite priest, and amidst the bickerings and intrigues that ensued,
the Raja's marriage was for some years considered inexpedient ; it being
contrary to usage that a person should be married prior to the cere-
mony of investiture being completed by his GitrH's pronouncing the
Gtlr Mantra, or mystical words of initiation.
Such was the state of this question up to the beginning of 1832,
when the advancing years of the young Prince convinced the regent
ministers that a farther delay would only tend to " defer* the remedy
of the evil, not the evil itself," and that some decision must be forth-
with resolved on ; — after much doubt and hesitation they determined
to solemnize the marriage, leaving the choice of a Gdrii to be decid-
ed on by the Prince himself on his attaining his majority. Before
venturing on so unusual a proceeding, an opinion was obtained from
the Brahmans, that though it would doubtless have been proper for
the Prince to have become the disciple of Borne G&rti previously to
entering upon the holy state of matrimony, still it would be better
for him to marry at once, and afterwards select a Gdrii, than con-'
tinue in his unhallowed state of celibacy.
At the same time it was decided that the marriage ceremonies should'
be solemnized at the town of D(gf (24 miles to the north of Bharatpm),
that the bridegroom should go out thus far to meet the bride, and
after the performance of the ceremonies, conduct her to his palace at
Bharatpur.
It has been stated above that the Raja was betrothed in the year
1824, and I now proceed to describe the manner in which the betroth-
al (Sugat) takes place. I am well aware that in doing so I run the
risk of wearying the patience of the reader. But it is necessary in
this as in other things to begin with the beginning ; neither am I igno-
rant that the ceremonies which form the subject of this paper have been
pronounced by the historian of British India (see vol. 1 . note c),
to be " trivial, multiplied, and tiresome." Such they would doubtless
appear to be to the philosopher and historian of Europe, who, calm-
ly seated in his study some thousands of miles from the country in
which these customs obtain, looks with wonder or contempt at the
• Remedia pottos malorum quam mala ipsa differentes.— Tact/**.
t The "Bhowant" or garden-palaces of Dig, built by the celebrated Jit,
Su'raj Mul, may safely be compared with any of the buildings erected by the
Muhammedans at Delhi or Agra. They were constructed of the stone found in the
Rtpbas hills about 80 years ago. For a short account of the antiquities of Ity,
see Appendix, A.
Digitized by
Google
HM.] of the Jtii of Shcrtfpur. *!f
* trivial and multiplied" details, and in sorrow or anger records his-
opinion of their absurdity. Bat the Hindu, alas ! looks upon these
my absurdities in a totally different light — he considers them as part
and parcel of his religion, as forms which were in the first instance
inculcated by his deities, and which the practice and veneration of
ages has hallowed. We may lament that he should do so, but we
ought not surely to condemn him without inquiry. It appears to me
that some of these very ceremonies, of which so sweeping a condem-
nation has been passed, are not only interesting and curious, but even
valuable, inasmuch as they tend to throw light* upon the feelings and.
domestic genius of our subjects.
The betrothal takes place in the following manner— a message is-
first sent by the father of the girl to the bridegroom's father, intimat-
ing that as alliances have formerly taken place between their families,
and as Providence has kindly blessed him with a daughter, &c. he is
anxious to bind the knots of amity closer than ever. Should the father
of the boy approve of the suggestion, he dispatches a Parohit or fa-»
mily priest to the lady's father, both to measure the height of the
girl and ascertain her personal appearance, &c. On the return of the
Pcrotet to his employer, the height of the young lady is compared with
that of the boy. Should it appear to be of the orthodox proportion, and
the report made by the Parohit of her beauty be favourable, the genea-
logies and affinity of the parties are then inquired into ; and in the
event of their not coming within thet prohibited degrees, the be*
trothal is agreed to, and considered binding upon b.oth parties.
The betrothal having been adjusted, and the Tika or marriage
present sent by the bride to the bridegroom, it remains for the Brah*
mans to select what they may be pleased to consider a " fortunate hour"
for the marriage. Regarding this important point, long and tiresome
disputes are sometimes carried on between the astrologers of the two
• " We cannot," says the talented and discriminating Sir H. Strachbt, "study
die genius of the people in its own sphere of action. We know little of their
iome t ti c Ijfe, their knowledge, conversation, amusements ; their trades and castes,
or any of those national and individual characteristics which are essential to a
complete knowledge of them." Perhaps the acknowledged existence of this lament-
able defect may excuse the attempt on my part to illustrate one of the most im-
portant events in the life of a Hindu.
t The prohibited degrees among the Bharatpwr Jats are the Goto or families
of the boy's paternal and maternal grand-fathers and grand-mothers. In this,
as in many other points, they depart widely from the strictness of the Hindu system
as promulgated in the " Institutes of Menu'," where prohibitions of the most ex-
traordinary nature are enumerated, and directions for choosing a wife minutely laid
down,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
978 Om ike Marriage Rite* and Usages £foi**
durbars. These disputes would indeed be endless bat for the inter-
ference of the superior party, who may always command or obtain the
silence of the priests by a well-timed fee, or the promise of a grant
of land. All opposition then ceases ; difficulties and scruples founded
upon texts from the sacred writings vanish, as soon as the land of
promise appears in sight : a little ingenuity and a considerable portion
of hardihood is all that is required; for with the aid of these two
auxiliaries the very Shastras which at first appeared to condemn the
arrangement may be clearly shown to favour it. There is an especial
advantage in this sort of arrangement to the soothsaying Brahman*.
Should the Mohrat prove a fortunate one, they take good care to
attribute all the happy results following it to the skill with which it was
arranged by them, but if on the other hand any untoward events
should happen; if for instance the bride should prove barren or pro-
lific only in female* children, they represent that they had from the
first had a divine presentiment of the evil, but yielding to the opinion
attempted by the anger of the Prince had consented to fix the
Mohrat agreeably to bis withes.
As before stated, many years elapse between the act of betrothal and
the celebration of the marriage rites. It is however expedient that
the number of years thus intervening should constitute an uneven sum,
as 3, 5, 7, not 2, 4, 6, which would be deemed unlucky. A similar be-
lief in the virtue of uneven numbers has obtained amongst many na-
tions from the earliest ages. It is especially laid down in the astro-
logical books of the Hindus. Thus in the Mohrat-Ckintawmn, (a
book abounding in the most extraordinary absurdities,) it is written
that it is always fortunate to meet the black antelope on the right-
hand side, and if the number of antelopes be odd, it is even fortunate
to meet them on the left side. A bad omen occurring to a person
starting on a journey is removed by eleven inspirations, and twenty- five
steps with the right foot should then be taken. Perhaps this belief may
have given rise to the Hindu Triad, and triliteral monosyllable for
the three worlds — earth, sky, and heaven. The number three being
* There is a curious passage in the Koran, illustrative of the feeling which pit-
railed among the Pagan Arabs on the subject of female offspring : see Salb'i
Koran, c. 16. " And when any of them is told the news of the birth of a female,
his face becometh black, and he is deeply afflicted ; he hideth himself from the
people, because of the ill tidings which have been told him, considering with himself
whether he t hall keep it with disgrace, or whether he shall bury it m the dutL"
The feeling led, in Arabia as in India, to the crime of infanticide. It was formerly
practised by many of the Rajputs and by the Jats. I wish I could persuade my •
■elf that it has ceased.
Digitized by
Google
im.) of the Jots of Bkaratput. H9
tmeren, and as such supposed to be of especial sanctity. At any rate*
wherever or however the belief originated, it was at onetime prevalent
throughout the world. Even the Platonists appear to have inclined
to it, and it was certainly esteemed by the other philosophical sects-—
nor is it perhaps much more absurd than the belief in alchemy, which
formerly mastered the intellects of the sages and philosophers of
Christendom, and for a time at least is supposed to have influenced
the sublime genius of Newton*.
The time for the marriage having thus been fixed, the day on which
the lagan-patri (or letter containing the marriage horoscope) shall
be sent by the bride to the bridegroom, is then adjusted. This is
brought by the Parohit or family priest of the bride's father, and is
simply a large scroll of paper, on which the day fixed on for the wed-
ding, the aspect of the planets, the number of days during which the
bridegroom's body is to be anointed with jasmine oil (Chambili-ka-t&l),
and the number of rejoicings (mangat) or days during which the
ceremony is to last, are specified.
The lagan is written in Sanscrit, and together with the khilat
which accompanies it, is received by the Raja in the inner apartments,-
on which occasion none but the females of the family, the Brahman*
and ParohiU (who have always access to the mehal), and Raja himself
are present.
The lagan-patri having been brought by the Parohit to the Raja,
the latter places it on his head, in token of respect, and delivers it
to the Brahmans in attendance, who read and explain its contents.
The Raja is then liftedf up by the not \ in waiting, and carried into
the inner apartments, where the Maji or Rani mother resides, and
to her he gives the lagan-patri and khilat which accompanied it. I
should have stated above, that the lagan is tied up with yellow}
• Not less extraordinary was the enthusiastic belief of the Emperor Julian, the
hero, legislator, and philosopher, in the virtue of the Eleusynian Mysteries and
Grecian arts of divination. Gibbon observes, with -his usual felicity of expression,
" By a strange contradiction, he disdained the salutary yoke of the Gospel, whilst be
made a voluntary offering of his reason on the altars of Jupiter and Apollo." De-
eSme end Full, chapter xxiii.
With regard to Sir J. Newton '8 belief in the doctrines of alchemy, I observe
that Sir D. Brrwstxr, in his lately published Life, (page 302,) state*, that there is
no reason to suppose that Sir I. N. did believe in them
t He is lifted up, because it is considered improper that he should come in con-
tact with the vile earth during the performance of the ceremonies.
X Not or barber ; the attendants on Rajas and Sirdars at Bharatpur are all
of this caste. Natns, females of the same caste, wait upon the Rani.
$ It is the favorite colour of Krishna ; hence bis synonime Pit amber, the,
"yellow-clothed" deity.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
t80 On the Marriage Rite* and Uaage* [Jv***
threads (this colour being esteemed fortunate) ; that dOb* grass* an
emblem of increase, is put on it; and that gold coins, betelnut, rupees,
kaldi or yellow curry-powder, and yellow rice are placed within the
folds of the paper.
The lagan-patri is intrusted to the keeping of the Rani mother
until the day of her death, whilst the khilat is sent out by her for
the inspection of the Sirdars assembled. When the Parohit or
his followers, who escorted the lagan, have returned to their tents,
which are pitched outside the city, it being contrary to etiquette
that the bride's party should partake in any way of the bride-
groom's hospitality, Gur (unrefined sugar) is distributed to the po-
pulace. On the third day after this, the Parohit returns with pre-
sents to the bride.
From the receipt of the lagan, the marriage is considered to begin.
Marriage songs (Barna and Barni) are sung in the houses of the
bride and bridegroom, and presents are distributed to the women
who sing ; these are for the most part females of the same stock (Gat)
as the bridegroom. The subjects selected by them, and the language
in which they are illustrated, are alike coarse and ludicrous, resem-
bling perhaps the " sales et convicia" sung by the Roman boys at
marriages, or the rude jokes and indecencies which pervade the songs
of our older poets.
The Raja's mother sits in the midst of the singers, listening to the
songs, and frequently joins in the chorus herself. Hie singers are
rewarded for their labours, and their songs are always in proportion
to the reward. There is a common saying, taken from this cir.
cumstance, which has passed into a proverb, " Jgsa tera kauri wysa
meri git," or the goodness of our song will depend upon the num-
ber of rupees bestowed on us.
The marriage songs having been instituted, and the body of the
bridegroom anointed with jasmine oil, which is applied with dub*
* For an account of the sacred durva or d6b grass, see Asiatic Researches, vet
br. Observation* on select Indian Plants, by Sir W. Jokes. The following; text
is there quoted : " May Durva, which rose from the waters of life, which hat s
hundred roots and a hundred stems, efface a hundred of my sins amd prolong ma
existence on earth for a hundred years." Mr. Henry Colkbroobe quotes another
text in praise of Durva, in his learned Essays, and Colonel Tonnt mentions that the
Bcjpuit are fond of comparing themselves to this valuable grass, which thrives is
almost every soil, and propagates itself for ages and ages. The comparison is not
confined to Rajp&te alone, it is current throughout upper India.
f I quote from memory, not having Colonel Todd's valuable work by me, the \st ve-
hime of which 1 perused (with less attention than it deserved), two years ago, in Cal-
cutta, the 2nd volume I have not yet seen.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833. 1 of the Jdts of Bharatpur. 281
grass to his feet, arms, and shoulders, the worship of the potter's wheel
(Chakr-puja) is then performed by the Maji and female relatives of
the Raja. This consists in visiting the shop of the family potter, and in
offering up sweetmeats, betelnuts, and rupees on his wheel. The prais-
es of this instrument and the article produced by it are chaunted by
the women, and the ceremony concludes by a demand on the part of
the potter* for a present ; upon which there ensues a mock dispute
between him, the Ranis, and the women, the potter demanding ex-
actly twice the sum to which he is entitled, and the females as stoutly
refusing to comply with his demand. The dispute is generally ended
by a compromise between the belligerent parties, and the female dis-
putants return to the mehal.
Two days prior to the marriage, the women of the mehal repair to
a tank within the interior of the palace, and having with their hands
dug up the wet mud on its banks, bring it on their heada into the inner
apartments, where they proceed to construct a miniature store-house
or granary for the bridegroom. The meaning of which is obviously
this, that it becomes the bridegroom to lay up ample store of provi*
skms for his future wife and family, whilst it is no less incumbent on
them (his relatives) to assist him in so doing.
After the worship of the potter's wheel the Raja and the whole of
his Sirdars repair in state to the shrine of Sit Id, the goddess of
the small-pox. Propitiatory prayers and gifts are offered up to this
dreaded personage, and various articles of food and incense placed be-
fore her. So general, I may add, is the worship of this goddessf
throughout these parts, that every village has an altar consecrated to
her, which consists generally of a mere heap of stones loosely piled up,
with one slab placed perpendicularly, on which a rude image of the
goddess is engraved.
The appearance of this goddess is said to be similar to that of an
eld and wrinkled woman, and, for this reason, the Hindus consider it
• Two reasons are assigned for the worship of the wheel ; 1st, that it is the wea-
pon of Vishxu. 2ndly, Its great utility to the married couple, as furnishing them
with otensils of every description.
f She is said to ride on a donkey and to have a potter as a groom, and for this
reason potters are entitled to the food offered up at her shrine, should it be Sukri,
or food cooked in a chuiha, but if Nikri or sweetmeats (which by some conveni-
ent text; are held to be lawful to all Hindus, though cooked by strangers), the
Brmhmana take good care to secure them.
% Provided they are inhabitants of the Mudk D*$, or country between the Wm S
Ipga and Vmdhga ranges.
O O
Digiti
zed by G00gle
gg£ On the Marriage Rites and TJiaget [Jirm,
proper that persons seized with small-pox should be attended by oM
women alone.
Another still more extraordinary act of devotion is then performed,
the worship of the Gohra or place in which the filth of the pakce
is deposited. The worship consists in sprinkling water, perfumes, and
sweetmeats on the mass ; and it is said to be indicative of the wish on
the part of the worshipper, that his progeny may increase and multiply
even as the heap of rubbish before him. In like manner, the Hindu
are accustomed to throw their sucking teeth on a dunghill, uttering at
the time a prayer that their new teeth may quickly appear, and increase
even as the dunghill has increased. Strange as this worship may ap-
pear to us, we should not forget that it may be defended by classical
precedents. If the Romans adored their " Cloacina," surely a less
civilized people may be excused for worshipping the Gohra.
Upon the termination of these several acts of devotion (rite peremp-
tis), there remains the ceremony of the Bhdt to be performed, which is
the presentation by the brothers and other male relatives (of the
Ranis), of marriage clothes, and presents to the Raja. The presents
consist of elephants, horses, camels, clothes for the Raja and
Ranis* and ashrafees ; and are given first to the Parohtis, then to
the Ranis and female attendants, and lastly to the Raja. In retain
for these presents the donors receive rice from the Raja. Hence the
name of the ceremony.
When the Raja's mother has put on the marriagef dress thus pre-
sented to her, and the circumstance has been communicated to friends
and people assembled, the marriage is considered to have co mmenc ed,
and the liveliest marks of rejoicing are exhibited.
The day before that on which the " bardt" or marriage cavalcade
starts for the place at which the wedding is to be solemnized, the de-
putations sent by foreign states in honour of the marriage are feasted
by the Raja ; after the entertainment is over the whole of the Raja's
relatives stand up, and whilst the Prince himself remains seated on the
guddee throw rupees, &c. into a flat iron dish. The women singing the
following words :
" Tdni khayo pet\ pusdr yun to lejaega m&nh mdr," or you have
* His mother, grand-mother, &c. not his future wife.
f The act of putting on the dress thus presented is called " bh&t pater***," ■
curious idiom enough.
X This is an allusion to the Pithy*, or allowance of food given by the state to
the relatives of the Raja. A Pithy* is literally a bellyful, but varies in quantity and
quality according tc the pleasure of the granter and rank of the grantee. The
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] of the Jots of Bharatpur. $83
tilled your bellies famously. In the same way shall it be taken from
you (even) by blows (i. e. should you refuse).
The time having at length arrived at which the marriage procession
is to set out, the attendants proceed to array the bridegroom in his
marriage garments, which, as will be seen from the following list, are
sufficiently numerous.
On his feet he has shoes of embroidered velvet. His pat jamas or
loose trowsers are composed of khnkhab, and under these he has a
dbt* of yellow silk.
As an under vest or garment he has a jama of cotton cloth, trim*
med with silver lace, and dyed of a yellowish red colour (kesdria).
Over this jama he has an embroidered vest, studded with pearls, O'er*
rika jama,) and over this again a girdle ornamented in the same way.
The panarth, a sort of long handkerchief, is tied to his girdle, and
thrown over his shoulder, to enable him to keep the dust from his eyes,
or wipe it off should any find access thereto. * On his head he has the
mor* t or marriage chaplet, which is richly ornamented with pearls
and gold embroidery, and is supposed to resemble the helmet of Kanhta,
with its plume of peacock's feathers.
His eyelids are stained with kajul or lamp-black, his feet and hands
with mehndtf, and on his feet, hands, arms, and neck, he wears a
Peihum of a Rani, for instance (see Appendix, B.) comprises all sorts of grain,
spices, sauces, &c. and that sine qua turn of Indian life, shirni or sweetmeats.
The fondness of all classes, high and low, men, women, and children, for these said
sweetmeats is to «* quite marvellous. I have been assured, that some Brahmans
wui eat a 100 balk of laddu (sugar, ghee, and pounded gram) at a sitting ! ! There
b a curious character of an " eating Brahman," a " grand gourmand," in the
Hindu Theatre."
• It has a curious sort of veil in front, formed of gold threads, hanging loosely
from the head to the breast, which is intended to protect the wearer from the
" evil eye.** A belief in demonology and witchcraft prevails throughout Hindu-
stan. As a curious instance of " public opinion" among the Jats on thin subject,
I may relate the following anecdote, told me by a very respectable native of
Bharatpur. In 1815-16, the Bharatpur Raja, Kandhir Singh, had an interview
with Lord Hastings at Futtehpur Sikri, and was received by that distinguished
nobleman with his usual kindness and affability. The Raja was highly pleased
with the interview, but happening in the course of the next year to lose his eye-
sight, by an attack of ophthalmia, some of the people about him, who from the
first had endeavoured to dissuade him from meeting the Governor General, gave
out that his blindness was the effect of " witchcraft " practised on him by Lord
H. during the interview, and this tale was generally believed throughout the
Bharatpur Raj ! !
t Erery one has witnessed the beautiful vermilion dye which the natives ex-
tract from this plant It is considered as essential an ornament by Hindu and
o O 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
On ike Marriage Rites and lhagew t Jtnc*,
variety of jewels, both such as are peculiar to men, as also some iHridi
are ordinarily worn only by women. Thus, besides bracelets on his
■ wrists, he wears the ponchi, a sort of bangle usually Worn only by
females. On his neck too, in addition to the common necklace which
all Hindus wear Qcanthi), he has the hansh, a kind of collar made
of gold or silver, and the shape of which is that of a horse abbe*
thus 8 . He has also rings on his little and fore fingers.
Thus attired, the bridegroom proceeds to his mother's apartment,
where he has one more ceremony to go through prior to starting :
after the usual obeisances, the Raja applies his mouth to his mother's
breast, and affects to imbibe some of the milk contained (or supposed to
be contained) therein. This is of course a mere form, but it is new
omitted by any caste of Hindus, and is obviously meant to remind
them of the period when they derived strength and nourishment from
their mother's breast alone, and of the duty imposed on them of pro-
tecting the parent who cherished them in the days of helplessness.
This sentiment is simply and beautifully expressed in one of Sam's
odes, of which I presume to offer the following version. (See Appen-
dix, C.)
Having received his mother's benediction, the bridegroom leaves the
inner apartments, and joins the marriage procession, which is mar-
shalled outside the mehal. He is then lifted into a palankeen or
fanodah, as the case may be, or rather as the Brahmans may have
directed. The chief thing at issue is the direction in which he is to
proceed, particular kinds of conveyances being considered fortunate to
persons travelling in particular directions : thus, should a person be
journeying towards the east, he should proceed on an elephant ; if
to the south, in a rath; to the west, on a horse; to the north, in
a/Mi/fc. These directions are of course seldom observed by persons
of inferior condition ; indeed, they are manifestly intended only for
indeed by all Asiatic women as rouge was (I will not venture to aay «•) by oar own
lair country women. There it this distinction however to be observed in the two
otherwise similar cases, no Hindu would think it ungallant to inform his mis-
tress that she was in the habit of " rouging." The custom is prettily alluded to
in the "Hindu Theatre," Vikrama and Urvasi, Act 4, Parura Vas thus speaks:
" How shall I learn, if she hath passed this way : the pleasing soil, softened by
showers, perchance may have retained the delicate impression of her feet,
and show some vestige of their ruby tincture." The subject has been some-
what differently bandied by the wits and poets of Europe from the days of Mastia.l
down to those of Brbbkuf, who is said to have produced no less than 150 con-
ceits on this topic. Some specimens are given by Bland in his " Illustration! to
the Greek Anthology."
Digiti
zed by G00gle
M».] of the Jot* of Bharatpur. 381
people of rank and wealth. The inohrarat* however, is never
violated even by the poorest Hindu, and judging from my experience
at Bharatpur, I would say their faith in its efficacy is as firm as ever.
On passing: through the city, the Raja stops at the •• Bekari ji
wumdbr," the temple of the playful god Krishna, and makes his
obeisances to the Mehant or high-priest of the establishment.
TTiere is a tradition still current at Bharatpur of the " sable god*"
being the kiHedarf of the fort (though not properly within the land
of Bruj), and for this reason, both he and his ministering priests are
entitled to greater honors than are rendered to the other forms of the
deity. On entering the tnandir the Raja seats himself on the ground
sear the Mehant, who does not rise from his gaddi or cushion.
The Raja humblyt invokes the blessing of the holy man, which is ac-
cordingly given, the Mehant throughout the interview maintaining
the tone and manner of a superior, whilst the Raja acts the part of
the suppliant. The same forms are observed when the priest visits
the Prince in full darbdr. The Raja rises to meet the saint as he en*
ters the hall of audience, and taking him by the hand, seats him on the
masnad, himself sitting on the ground beside him. Some idea may be
formed from this circumstance of the important part which these Mehant*
play in Hindu states. The high esteem in which they are held by
all classes of Hindus, from the Raja down to the " unwashed artizan,"
necessarily gives them the greatest influence in state afiairs, should
they be of an intriguing turn of mind, and especially when they con-
trive to* become the Guru or spiritual adviser of the Raja. The
notorious Sri' Ji of Jeypur, the Guru, and as the Jats affirm
evil adviser of Durjan Saul, whom he instigated to his hopeless resist-
ance to our arms, may be taken as a good specimen of an unprinci-
pled intriguing Mehant ; nor is Bharatpur without a similar character,
as is well known to the supreme authorities. In general, however, the
Mehants are said to be quiet, well disposed personages, and I believe
that a political Mehant subjects himself to as much odium among the
Hindus as a political priest does with us. As all the tnandirei have
• The favorite epithet applied to Krishna S vam ark.
t During the assault in 1804-5, our Sipahfs protested that they saw the god
distinctly ! " dressed in yellow garments, and armed with his peculiar weapons the
bow, mace, conch, and pipe !"
X Preno usl y to sitting, he performs the dtndaMt, a salutation which consists in
raising both handi joined to the head, which is, at the same time, slightly bowed.
§ The two principal temples at Bharatpur are those of Bbhaju Ji and Lacb-
MAif J i, the former belonging to the Nemawat, the latter to the Rdmawat sect of
Ryrngit. The Mehant* of these temples hare each a Chanda or cess allowed
Digiti
zed by G00gle
£8< On the Marriage Rites and Usages \Jxjsw,
"grants of knd from the state or a share in the assessments levied upon
villages, they are of coarse more or less dependent on the will of the
reigning Prince.
I may mention here, in order to preserve myself from the imputation
of having mistaken the ground on which the extraordinary marks of
respect above detailed are paid by the Bharatpur Rajas, to the Mehamt
of the Bekari Ji Mandir, that the present Raja, for reasons which
iiave been already mentioned, had not become the Chela of any Guru
-at the time of his marriage, and that consequently it was not as his
Guru or spiritual adviser that he reverenced the Mekant, but as being
the superior of a temple especially dedicated to Krishna.
Quitting the temple, the cavalcade proceeds on its way. As it
.passes through the city, the inhabitants crowd the tops of the houses,
anxious to obtain a sight of the precession, and compare it with those
of former princes. The streets are illuminated, with chhrighs fixed
upon bambu trelles work ; and as the Prince himself advances, the loud
.cries of "Ram! Ram!" become more and more frequent; uttered as
•they are by all ranks and ages, from the grey-headed men of sixty dowa
to the child of three or four years old ; add to these sounds, the " con-
•cordia discors" of the large shankh or shell ; the blowing of fifes and
trumpets, and beating of drums on the part of the Paltans, which
-precede the Raja ; the deep bass sounds of the Nakdras or kettle-drums
borne by the camel Sowars; the shrill piercing tones of the bambu
.pipe ; the tinkling of the elephants' and camels' bells ; the waving of
>chouries; "the dancing of the tall spears" on which the national
standards* are fixed ; the discharge of fire-works and jingalls, and we
have a pretty correct enumeration of the attributes of pomp (and melo-
dy !) with which a Hindu Prince goes forth to his wedding.
The women of the different villages through which the Barat passes
advance to meet it, singing the songs of rejoicing usually sung at the
Hdlif. In return for this mark of respect presents are given them,
generally about five rupees per each village.
them by the state upon all Tillages. The number of village* is about 1,200, and
the Chanda varies according to the Rakba, being seldom if ever above two rupees,
nor less than four annas. Besides the Ckanda, they have the " Changi " or
tithe m kind, levied upon all sorts of grain when exported for sale in the toztn,
and a pious or superstitious Prince occasionally makes them a grant of a village,
i. e. of the government share of the produce, which is collected by the Mekmt
instead of by the Sirtar.
• A yellow flag, with the figure of the monkey-general Hand man rampant
an the centre.
f Phagua, so called from the month Phagtm,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
ieS3.] »/ the Jdts of Bharatput. 587
The procession moves at a slow and measured pace : immediately in
front of the bridegroom's elephant are stationed a number of water*
carriers, bearing skins of water, which they occasionally pour on the
ground before him ; not with the intention of laying the dust, for that
would be considered absurd, but to convey to all beholders the notion
that the presence of the bridegroom is as grateful to his mistress and
all created things as water is to the parched-up earth.
When the bardt has arrived to within a mile or two of the town'
at which the wedding is to take place, it is met by the nearest male
relative of the young lady, who comes out thus far to honour the bride-"
groom, and to conduct him to his tents. This is called the Peshwai
or Istakbaly and is considered an important part of native etiquette*
It obtains I believe throughout Asia, certainly in all Muhammedan?
countries.
The whole of the bridegroom's Sipahfs, attendants, and sirdars,:
constituting a body of about 8000 men, are dressed in marriage gar-
ments, as also those of the bride. In fact, no one would be allowed to
form part of the procession, or to be present at the marriage feast who*
was not so attired. This piece of etiquette throws light on a passage in
Scripture, Matthew xxii. " And when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding-garment, and
he said unto him. Friend, how comest thou hither, not having a wed-,
ding-garment ? and he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants**
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away and cast him into outer
darkness." A similar violation of established rule and etiquette would
meet with a similar punishment, I believe, in any native state. ,
I shall now describe as shortly as possible the ceremonies which are
performed after the arrival of the bridegroom. In the first place, a
hookah, bhang, tobacco, cardamums, and sherbet are sent to him by
the " SamdhT or father of the girl, and the " Samdhi" himself waits
on him. He is received with much respect by the Sirdars of the
court, but the bridegroom neither rises from his seat nor returns his
salutation. The natives consider the bridegroom to be a sort of Di-
vinity* for the two or three days during which the ceremonies last, and
for this reason he neither returns his father-in-law's greeting nor that
of any one else. When the two or three days are over, he relapses.
to his former " earthly" state.
•* However low the caste and station of the bridegroom, he is called a " arhai
roi km BadskmA," or a " King for two and half days," i. e. during the performance
of the ceremonies, which last two or three days, according to the resources of the
bride's father, who is expected to feast the cavalcade for at least two and gene-
rally three days.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$88 On the Marriage Rites and Usages p*".
In the evening of the first day, the ceremony of the Toran takes place,
and at midnight that of the Horn. Though there is no mention of the
Toran in Mr. Colbbbookb's Essays, nor any allusion to it in the " Hin-
du Theatre," or law, it is considered by the Jats, and I am assured, by
all Hindris in Upper India, as a very important ceremony, and as took,
is never omitted. The Toran is a wooden ornament, or rather the figures
of certain little birds, carved in wood, and gilded over with gold kaf.
These are fixed above the doorway leading into the Mamiap or
marriage pavilion, and the ceremony consists in the bridegroom's strik-
ing or touching them with a sheathed sword.
As soon as this feat has been accomplished, a general spr inkling el
Huli powder and explosion of fire-works takes place. The Sirdars
partake of a zyafat at the Samdkfs house, whilst the bridegroom
returns to his tents, it being considered improper that he should be
feasted by his father-in-law prior to the performance of the Horn.
Though I have made repeated inquiries as to the origin and mean*
ing of the Toran, I have not hitherto received any satisfactory explana-
tion of it :— one reason assigned, and it is certainly a plausible one, m
that the touching it with the sword is intended to represent the bride-
groom's superiority over the bride, and to convey a hint to her and all
present, of the treatment she will receive, if refractory. The New
Zealanders, if I recollect aright, convey a similar hint to their intend*
ed wives, though in a somewhat coarser fashion, by knocking them down
with large clubs previously to the marriage ; or perhaps, the Tom m
some allusion to the kind of wedding or rape entitled Rakkasa, which
took place between Krishna and Ru'khmani', and is one of the
forms enumerated by Mbnu.
The sacred ceremony of the Horn or burnt-offering takes place at
midnight, and as it is decidedly the most classical and interesting of all
the Hindd sacrifices, I shall endeavour to describe it minutely. I shall
not attempt to give the Mantras, or incantations used on the occasion :
first, because on account of my very slight knowledge of Sanscrit I was
unable to determine the particular Mantra chaunted by the priests ; and
secondly because the Mantras generally used on such occasions havs
already been given by Mr. Colbbrookx in his admirable papers on tht
religious ceremonies of the Hindus.
The Horn was performed under the Mandap or marriage pavilion,
at the gateway of which the ceremony of the Toran had taken place.
The pavilion is erected by the bride's father, and is constructed of wood*
en posts, gaily ornamented and gilded with gold leaf, having niches for
the reception of the small earthen lamps which serve to illuminate the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833J Of the J<Ut of Bharatpvr.
compartments into which it is divided. The whole of the pavilion is
carefully covered over with long cloth ; and from the roof of it numer-
ous lamps of coloured glass or paper (in which the purest ghat is burnt)
are suspended by long strings ; gilded cocoanuts are also to be seen
dangling after the same fashion, and the appearance of these and of
the many-coloured lamps is at once fantastic and pleasing.
The spot of ground on which the sacrifice is to be performed having
been selected by the Brahmans, the Nairn* or female attendants of the
bride proceed to decorate it in the prescribed manner : " The figure of
the sacred lotus (nymph** nehmboj, on which, according to Hindu
belief, the deity floated amidst the waters of chaos, is drawn upon the
ground in the centre of the chouk or square. On the figure of the lotus
small wooden stools are placed for the bride and bridegroom, their;
faces being turned to the east.
Immediately opposite to the chouk is the bedi, or altar on which
the Aghana or sacrificial fire is lighted. The altar is square, formed of
earth, and ought to be one hat'h (cubit) in height, but the dimensions
vary. In the centre of it is placed the body fire, which may be formed
of the six following woods ; viz. the Pute (Butea /rondosa), Pejml
(Ficus rcUgkaa), Chonkra (Prosopi* tpicigera—Skwmal in Sanscrit), Akh
(AscUpias giganteaj, Kher (Acacia Catechu), and Onga (Achryanthes
a$pera*.J
The father of the girl (samdhi as he is called), the bridegroom's
nearest male relatives, and the Brahmans who are to perform the cere-
monies, having seated themselves round the sacrificial fire, the bride-
groom enters the pavilion, carried or supported in the arms of a not.
The samdhi honours him with a respectful salutation (aamdavatj,
and p rono u nces a short benedictory prayer, expressive of gratitude for
the high honour conferred on his daughter. To this prayer no answer
is given, nor is any return made to the salutation.
Hie aamdki then brings a carpet for the bridegroom to sit on*
This is placed on the right-hand stool, that on the left-hand being
reserved for the bride. He also brings water for the bridegroom's feet,
and the Brahmans channt a mantra in praise of water; but as the
mantra and this particular ceremony are both described in Mr. Cols-
bbooks's third Essay, any further notice of them would be presumption
on my part. The holy element, water, which Pindar declares to be the
best of things, is honoured with three adorations. The first, or the
ablution, is called anon ; the second, or the pouring the water on the
• See Pidpikotow's Indian Plant*. The Onga uthaUpa Maya of Sanscrit.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
09G On the Marriage Rites and Utaget [JuNtf,
ground from a vessel in the shape of a boat, arghd ; and the third
is the sipping, or achimdn. Surely, there is nothing very "absurd
or trivial" in these allusions to the three great purposes to which water
is applied in India, and throughout the world, viz. ablution, irrigation,
and nourishment.
After the adorations of water, the bride enters the pavilion, and being-
carried to her father, is by him received with extended arms. He then
presents her to the bridegroom, places her hand in his : the latter
joining his two palms together to receive hers; as is customary
throughout Hindustan with persons when a gift is conferred on them.
The Brahmans now proceed to chaunt the sankalp, or votive prayer,
expressive of the solemn vow by which the bride has been dedicated
and given away by her father, and thus after one or two other man-
tras, the kanya-ddn, which precisely answers to our giving away of
die bride, is accomplished.
The Bharatpur Pandits assert, that the kanya-ddn irrevocably fixes
the marriage, even though the Horn or burnt-offering should not take
place. This appears to be contrary to the text in Menu, which declares
that a marriage is irrevocable after the seven steps have been taken at
the Horn. Mr. Colbbrookk also states that the seventh step renders
it irrevocable.
The kanya-dan is succeeded by the parkrama or pridakshana, in
other words, the circuits round the altar. The clothes of the bride-
groom are tied to those of the bride ; their hands bound together with
kusa grass, or a yellow thread : and in this state they have to per-
form seven circuits round the altar. The Shastras indeed prescribe
four circuits as the proper number, but the Jats always make seven.
The number of circuits having been finished, mantras are recited and
ablutions offered in honour of Aghana, (the god of fire,) the purest
symbol of the all-pervading principle of life and power, which, as in
the Platonic scheme, is supposed to diffuse itself throughout the mass
of created things, and to vivify and animate the countless particles of
matter.
" Coelum et terns campotque liquentes
" Spiritus intus alit, totamque infos* per artua
" Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet."
Well would it have been for Hinduism, and the myriads who pro-
fess and have professed it, had all its symbols and objects of adoration
been equally pure and innoxious as Aghana.
The worship of Aghana being completed, and the marriage render-
ed indissoluble and irrevocable by the seven steps, the attendant priests
Digiti
zed by G00gle
*S33-] of the Jdts of Bkstxtijmr. rajgl
cfeaunt the Sakhochar or marriage hymn in honour of the affianced
parties' ancestors. The priests present on the part of the Raja con-
tented themselves with enumerating the praises and virtues of three of
his forefathers. Of these Sdeaj Mal, the founder or consolidator of
the Jat power, and Ranjit Singh, the fortunate opponent of Loan
Lake, naturally obtained the largest portion of the eulogium. There is
a very spirited ode in Brij Bhdhha in praise of Suraj Mal, nor
has the martial prowess of Ranjit Singh been less honoured, but alas!
for the credit of poetical prophecy. The Jat bard who celebrates the
fame of Ranjit Singh, after describing with some minuteness and
most woful anachronisms the progress of the British power, which he
depicts as a raging flame, kindled in the south, and acquiring heat and
consistency as it spread through the country of Tippu and Maharash-
tra, to the imperial city of Delhi, proceeds to immortalize the valour of
Ranjit Singh, by whom this raging element of destruction was
checked and extinguished.
Bat though the lapse of a few years has proved the vision of the
Jat bard (like most other poetic visions), to be vain and empty, it
would be ungenerous to deride the feeling which prompted it. The
Jto are and ever have been deeply national ; even in these (their) days
of weakness and prostration they cling to the memory of former tri-
umphs, nor are the feelings of the man to be envied who would sneer
at them for so doing. The sentiment which inspired the glowing num-
bers of Tyrtseus, which animated and immortalized the " fatal elo-
quence*" of Demosthenes and Cicero, and which in modern times has
called forth the powers of the bards and orators of Europe, cannot and
should not be deemed unworthy of sympathy, though expressed by a
Jit poet in his own peculiar language.
After the praise of ancestors, the Pandits read a lecture on the mar*
riage duties to the bride and bridegroom, to which they are both ex-
pected to testify their assent. Presents are then distributed to the at-
tendant priests, and the bride and bridegroom proceed in one palan-
keen to the tents of the latter, where the knot which had been tied in
their garments is unloosed, and the damsel dismissed with a present of
fruits and flowers to her own house.
The next day, and sometimes the day after also, is spent in festivity
and rejoicing. The bridegroom, attended by his prinoipal friends and
Sirdars, dines with the bride's father. On this occasion also the etiquette
observed will remind the reader of a passage in Scripture. The bride-
* " Mortifera facundia." Juvenal. Sat. x.
p p 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
2J2 On tke Marriage RMiwufUtaget {Jwe,
groom is met at the door of the house by his father-in-law, who re-
ceives him with every mark of honour, and with his own hands washes
his feet. The feet of the other guests are also washed by the bride's
relatives. The whole party then proceed into the interior of the pari-
lion, beneath which they seat themselves in their prescribed order, ssd
the repast, consisting of various kinds of sweetmeats, is served up on
platters of the leaves of the mango-tree. These with pure water sad
clarified butter constitute the whole of the feast.
As I particularly wished to be present at a Hindu feast, I made a
point of attending on this occasion, having first of all ascertained that
by so doing I should not in any way hurt the feelings or prejudice! of
ithe parties. Hie xiafat in fact consisted merely of sweetmeats, and these
as before stated are eaten by all classes without prejudice or observance
^>f the forms which attend a regular meat, such as purifying the groaad
with cow-dung, constructing a chdha, drawing the lines around it, sad
eating food cooked by your own hands, or by a Brahman. We were seated
near the Raja, and had our platters of mango-leaves filled with sweet-
meats, as had the other guests. The persons in our immediate vicinity,
whether restrained by our presence, or from etiquette, did not appear
to do much honour to the viands. I observed however that those seat-
ed further off were either more hungry or less ceremonious, and I was
much amused by the prowess of one of the guests, " a good portly
man i'faith and a corpulent one of a cheerful look, a pleasing eye, and a
noble carriage," whose platter appeared, like the cask of the Banaids, to
empty as fast as it was filled. On the third day largesse is distributed
by the bridegroom's father to the Bhdts or bards who assemble in
large numbers on such occasions. The mode of distribution is as
follows : — For some days previous to the celebration of the marriage,
these votaries of the " Gentile art" flock from all quarters to the place
at which the wedding is to be solemnized. To every man, woman, and
child, so assembling, a donation is made, generally to the amount of one
rupee per head, whilst smaller sums of from eight to four annas are
also given for the wretched tattfa or bullocks on which the owners may
have come, and frequently to any animals, such as monkeys, parrots,
or dogs which they may bring with them ; — for it would be considered
a stigma on the bridegroom's hospitality, should any creature attend
his marriage with the hope of largesse, and be sent away empty-hand-
ed. This custom of promiscuous and ill-judging expenditure on the
occasion of marriage obtains amongst all classes of Hindus, from the
Raja, to the chumar or outcast. It even masters the well known
avarice of the Banya or merchant, who will squander in marriage re-
zed by Google
.1833.] of the Jots of Bharutpvr. t*J
joieings, sums which it has cost him many a year of griping and pa-
tient avarice to accumulate, and which perhaps could not be extracted
from him by the severest tortures.
The multitude of Bhdts, and their attendant bipeds and quadrupeds,
is collected together in some secure and commodious place, where there
is but one egress. The distribution of money then commences, and
as each individual receives his allotted gift, he is directed to depart by
the single entry, which is guarded by sipahis, and closed as each
Bhdt departs with his reward. By this system, confusion is prevented,
nor is it possible for individuals to claim and receive their quota more
than once, as they would otherwise undoubtedly do.
Liberal presents are also made to the " Negi-Jogi," or persona
who have contributed by their handicraft towards the preparation of
the marriage, such as potters, sweetmeat-makers, and other professors
of the useful arts. Little distinction is made on such occasions between
the Bkdt, whose vocation is (or ought to be) of an intellectual nature,
and the artizan whose labours are purely manual. If any distinction
is drawn, it is to the prejudice of the poet, and he obtains a less re*
ward than the maker of comfits. The reader may perhaps consider
this an unfair valuation of the merits of these two classes, or it may
remind him of the ingenious " Maitre de danse" in Gil Bias, who in-
dignantly asks how four double pistoles per month can be considered
an extravagant remuneration for his labours, when a fourth at least of
that sum would be paid for a mere " Maitre de philosophic* .*'
The religious and family ceremonies of the marriage having been
concluded, the bride was escorted with much pomp to the house of the
bridegroom, at Bharatpur. On arriving at the fort, she proceeds
to the deohri or palace appointed for her reception ; at the three*
hold of this building she waits for the arrival of the bridegroom, who
follows her at a short distance, and as soon as he has joined her, a knot
is again tied in their garments, and they proceed together into the
interior of the deohri.
At the entrance into the first court, the couple is met by the daugh-
ter of the bridegroom's parohit, who stands as centinel of the sancto*
rium, and refuses to admit them until her usual free has been granted i
on obtaining this she allows them to proceed.
• " Combien prenez-rous par mob? quatre double-piatoles, reprit-il ; c'est le pri*
courant, et je ne donne que deux lemons par semaine. Quatre doublons par mois !
m'ecriaije, c'estbeaucoup. Comment beaucoup ? repliqua-t-il d'un air etonn£ ; rous
donneriez bien wupittolepar mois fc un maitre de philosophic /"
Digiti
zed by G00gle
194 On the Mmntye Rites and Usages [JuNi #
The household gods, images of whom are placed within the deokri,
Ju&ving been duly reverenced by the bride, she is ushered into the
apartments allotted to her, and is shortly after visited by the female
relatives of the bridegroom, who claim the privilege of removing her
veil and of gazing at her hitherto secluded charms. This practice is
known by the name of munh-dikhai, or the face-shewing, and the
females thus honoured by a gaze are expected to make a handsome
offering to the bride for the favour conferred on them.
The bride remains for three days and nights at her husband's resi-
dence, but the marriage is not consummated on this occasion. Various
rites and usages are practised during the three days, but as this paper
lias already far exceeded the limits to which I originally intended to
confine it, I shall content myself with briefly adverting to two of the most
singular customs. The one is the untying of the kankan or bracelet
of kusa grass, which previous to the marriage is bound on the right-
hand of the bride, and left of the bridegroom.
The bride and bridegroom being seated opposite to each other, pro-
ceed to unravel the knots and mazes of their respective kankan*.
Should the husband succeed in undoing the bracelet of the wife before
she has untied his, the feat is considered typical of his future superi-
ority in domestic life, and great rejoicings are immediately made by
his attendant relations. If, on the other hand, the lady should first
unravel the bracelet, her friends celebrate her dexterity, in noisy and
triumphant songs of applause.
A curious game of chance also takes place between the newly mar-
ried couple. A large tub or caldron of water is placed before them,
and jewels, gold-mohurs, and rupees are thrown into it. The bride
and bridegroom plunge their hands into the basin, and whoever suc-
ceeds in extracting the larger quantity of jewels or money from its
depth, at one dip, is supposed to win the game. The old English
amusement of Snap Dragon was regulated, I believe, on similar princi-
ples.
Childish as these practices may appear to us, they are at any rate
harmless, nor with reference to the youth of the parties engaging in
them, would they appear to merit the censures of the cynic. Who has
not engaged in similar triflings, and felt the pleasure which such inno-
cent amusements excite, in the days of youth and joyousness, when the
heart is as yet whole, and unscathed by the cares and cankers of time ?
On the expiration of her three days residence at the house of her
lord and master, the bride returns to her relations for a period of 1, 3,
or 5 years, and she is then brought home by the bridegroom to as*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1633.] of the Jdt$ of Bharatpnr. *§&
some the duties of the married state. Hiis second bringing home of
the wife is termed gona or gaman, and is usually the consummation of
the marriage; but the gaman may be altogether dispensed with by
the performance of the phir-pattah, or changing the stools of the bride
and bridegroom, when the Horn is celebrated.
Such then are the rites and usages by which the marriage of a Raja
is marked among the Jats. The same rites and usages are observed
by the meanest of his Jat subjects, who are equally tenacious as he
may be of the ways of their forefathers. Some of the customs above
enumerated are of course omitted by parties in inferior circumstances,
such as the largesse to Bhdts and others, the distribution of sweetmeats
to the marriage cavalcade, &c; but this arises entirely from the want
of resources, and never from the belief that there is anything absurd
or unworthy in the ceremony itself.
The reader who has had the patience to peruse the above remarks,
will doubtless have observed, that agreeably to Hindd law and practice,
the father of the bride is by no means considered on an equality with
the bridegroom, but is obliged to demean himself as an inferior* to-
wards his future son-in-law. To this extraordinary and unnatural
custom, and to the feelings of degradation and wounded pride, excited
by it, we may attribute the dreadful crime of female infanticide.
I have omitted to mention that the marriagef of widows is permit-
ted and practised among the Jats, and that the rite of Suttee is conae- -
quently unknown.
APPENDIX.
A.
The ancient name of Dig was Diragh or Dirghpura, and will be •
found mentioned in the Skand Purdn, and 4th chapter of the Bhaga-
vat Mahatama. After the disappearance of Sri 1 Krishna, Brij*
Mandal, the country of Brij, became deserted. Brur Nab, the son
of Pridhun and grand-father of Krishna, presented himself one day
before Sanuil Rish i, the celebrated sage (who had resided in that holy
quarter for upwards of a thousand years), and asked him where Kanhta
had fled to. The saint replied, he has not fled, he is still in Brij,
though invisible ; perform tapasya (religious penance) and he will re-
* He washes the bridegroom's feet as stated above, an unequivocal recognition
of inferiority on his part — Sic passim.
f Perhaps the term marriage is too strong for this sort of alliance. It is what
we call a left-handed marriage, and yet the issue of such marriages is considered in
all respects legitimate.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
296 On the Marriage Sites and Usages [Juki,
appear to you, fear nothing; Brijr Nab then asked, fiat where am I
to reside ? He answered, In the following places, which will revive and
flourish under your auspices, make thou thy Royal abode ; — Gavardhan,
IXrghpura or Dig, Mathura, Mahdban, Nanogram and Barsan**."
The above six towns are considered the most distinguished of all.
the holy bane or places of pilgrimage in the circle of Brij*
Close to the fort of Dig, which is only separated by a wet ditch
from the bhewane or garden-palaces, are two places greatly distin-
guished in the Mathura Makdtama, or traditionary history of Mather*,
and the firimka Bybart, or transformations of Ksishna. One of
them is called Krishna-hind, or the pool of Krishna, and the other
Sdmbar, a corruption of Swyambara, the free or self-election of a has*
band.
At this public place the princes of the country used to assemble on
great occasions of marriage. The lady having performed the tour of
the circle where they stood, signified her choice by throwing a garland'
of flowers upon the neck of the Prince she preferred.' Tnere are many
instances of this practice on record. In the pleasing history of the
loves of NALAf and Damtanti, the poet elegantly describes the
Swyambara or election of Damtanti, whose sagacity enables her
to distinguish the real from the false Nalas, and whose affection teaches
her to prefer the mortal object of a mutual passion, to the Deities who
from envy and malice had assumed the form of her lover.
The latest Swyambara perhaps known, occurred at KanomJ, and'
was attended with serious consequences, as the animosity it excited
between the father of the princess and her lord laid India open to
Muhammedan aggression, and paved the way for European ascendancy ;
(see Quarterly Oriental Magazine for 1825. The choice of Droupadi.)
B.
For the edification of the curious in such matters I subjoin the trans-
lation of a Hindi paper, shewing the amount and quality of the petty*
of a Rani.
• For the satisfaction of the Sanscrit scholar I subjoin the Sanscrit tklek:
***** <*^ **pJ*t *%irk \
«il*Mjiil from nn^r *j<*fmft!fViiq i ^
t An elegant edition of N a'la and Damyanti, as contained in the MakeMdnt,
has been given to the public by Professor Bofp.
Digitized by
Google
1883.]
of the Jctti of Bharatpur.
297
4moumt •/ allo t tm nc m, monsy, ^e. issmd from the godowns ef tks Sirkar to
Rani, Sambat 1885.
Cash yearly.
Rs.Ai.Pb.
39 12
Pay for bearers,
Ditto for Dewriban or Door-
keeper, 24
To Hardeo, maker of sweet-
meats, 57 12
To Munsa, vender of pan (7
pans per diem), 3
For twine and pack-thread,
For Sewchoodassi or the
14th Phagun, presents to
the Jogis, 15
For Hull and Dasera, .. 20
For Tij Sawan, the 3rd day
of the month of Sawan,
For medicines, Ac.
8
10
15
19
3
For dyeing cloths, 8 2
Attab, 5 mds. 20 seers,. ... 58 13
Dal, 8 mds. 10 seers, .... 8 4
Ghee, 5 mds. 2 seers, .... 50 8
Salt, 2 mds. 11 seers, ... 2 10
Rice, 1 md. 5 seers, 2 8
Sugar, 37 seers, 7 6
Gar, 2 mds. 5 seers, .... 5 5
Oil, 2 mds. 20 seers, .... 100
Barley, 9 mds. 6
Dal of gram, 20 seers, .... 8
Sinkh, 20 seers, (grass, of
which brooms are made), 10
Spices, such as haldi, dha-
ni*»&c... 3 2
Cloths.
Wrappers and quilts, . .
t pieces printed cloth,
(chintz of Jeypur,) ....
1 ditto ditto, (of Agra,) ..
1 piece Sallie cloth,
1 piece Jhoonah ditto, ....
i niece Mashru of Agra,
(silk and cotton mixed,)
7 yards Gazi cloth, ....
7 ditto Garrah cloth (coar-
ser cloth),
3 hath Deriace cloth,
5| pieces Metah cloth of Sha-
jahanpur for Lahenga or
petticoat,
4 ditto printed cloths (green
chintz),
2 ditto ditto (ditto yellow),
51 yards black printed cloth,
2 ditto red cloth,
2 Dhotis,
1 piece Chinese chintz, 12
yards (probably English),
9} yards Metah cloth for
dopatta,
4§ ditto Mamudi, ditto
2 pieces ditto for Duhar,..
1* ditto Garrah cloth of Bi-
ana,
6§ ditto Metah cloth, in ho-
nour of " Sawan Tij,"
(3rd day of Sawan,) ....
1 ditto Dhoti for SanjAp,
4 pair shoes,
Colours for cold weather, ..
1 6
8
13 12
24
2
1 8
12
3
18 12
2 8
2 8
8 2
5 8 I
Total Rupees, 489 3 9
The ode alluded to will be found in the 6th Book of the Gulistan,
Btory 6th. It begins thus, \^ri^ ^Jj** ^^ C^jS>a> *•>
and the translation which has at least the merit of fidelity is as
follows :
" Well spoke the Matron ! who beheld her son
" Prostrate the Pard— with elephantine chest—
" Wouldst thou ! but think upon thy childhood, when
" Helpless, thou us'd to cling upon my breast—
" Thou wouldst not, now a warrior bold—
" Oppress me— me thy Mother old 1"
Digitized by
Google
998 Voyseys Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. [J ram, .
II.— Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. By H. H. Voysey. Esq. Sar-
geon and Geologist to the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, 1819*.<
The country in which Colonel Lambton carried on his Trigonome-
trical Survey, during the months of January, February, and March,
1819, lies between Hyderabad and the Godavery. The most northern
station being the hill of Shivalingapah, near the Godavery. The most
eastern, Chittial near Maidak ; and the most western, Oudgir.
The country between these points was traversed in many directions,
and the nature of the rocks, minerals and soils described ; and al-
though in many instances it was not possible to ascertain the extent
of the ranges by tracing them through the jungle, yet the appearance
of an identical or nearly similar rock taking the same direction has been
thought a sufficient proof of the continuity of the formation.
* The papers of Doctor Vo yset have long been anxiously inquired for by hi*
friends in India. After his death it was known that his numerous manuscripts and
journals had come into the possession of the Asiatic Society, and had been placed in
the hands of some of the Members of the Physical Committee, in order to be digested
and arranged for publication. This arduous but pleasing task had in a great measure
been accomplished by the successive labours of Mr. Wilson, and Captain Frank-
lin but principally of the former. The relatives of Doctor Votsbt in Eng-
land, anxious only for the fame of one whose memory was so dear to them,
bad freely and feelingly consented to such use being made of his papers; when a
temporary check was experienced from an unexpected quarter. Mr. Hayzu,
* professional artist, had it seems given Dr. Votsxt a few hints in sketch-
ing ; and had made some illustrative drawings (though but one such was found
among the papers) which he considered of sufficient value to be made die
subject of a formal claim. " Dr. Voysey's valuable collection," says his
letter, " his writings, and my drawings have been seised upon by tome cmU-
ing themselves the Asiatic Society ,- they are about to publish a selection from
his writings, without consulting his friends, or making them any compensation!"
It might have been presumed, that a man who had lived in India would have known
that scientific works were not very likely to pay the expence of publication, modi
less to realize profit, however the more favored productions of artists might succeed !
From this and other causes however the digest of his journals has been hitherto pre-
vented from seeing the light, and they were less likely to do so in the present depress-
ed state of the Society's pecuniary means. We are therefore happy in the per.
mission granted us to publish them in the pages of this journal, either separately as
has been done with Buchanan's Statistics,or incorporated chapter by chapter with tke
monthly numbers of the work. As a commencement, we have selected the reports sub-
mitted to ihe Marquess of Hastings, by Dr. Votsbt himself, as Geologist to the
Trigonometrical Survey, in 1819 and 1820. These in fact form the best digest of
his proceedings for those two years, and they will serve to introduce the reader to ft
preliminary knowledge of the Geology of the Hyderabad provinces, while their septm-
tion will not interfere with the text of the journal itself.— Ed,
I
Digiti
zed by G00gle
IWS/J Voysty'* Report on the Otology of Hyderabad* $9$
Any person who has travelled in India will be aware of the difficul-
ties attending a deviation from the main road, especially in an unfriend,
ly country; this circumstance, with the necessity of attending to those
professional duties which were incompatible with any protracted ab-
sence from the camp, will, it is hoped, be a sufficient apology for any
apparent deficiency in my attempt to take a general survey of the
mineralogies! character of the country in which my partial observations
have been made.
It may also be proper to state in this place, that the scarcity of all
lands of meteorological and other apparatus prevented me from
making any other than very general observations ; and although provid-
ed with one of Gay Lussac's Syphon Barometers, yet the scale had been
so imperfectly graduated in Calcutta, as to allow me to place but little
reliance on the observations and calculations of heights obtained from
it. This latter defect is of minor importance, since the heights of all the
trigonometrical stations will be determined by Colonel Lambton him-
self in the progress of the survey*.
The geology of the country between the Kistnah and Godavery
admits of a very simple division, being distinguished from most other
countries of a similar extent, by the existence of only two formations,
differing very widely in their characters ; viz. granite and Werner's
fketz trap, both of which give a striking and separate character to the
scenery, cultivation, and vegetable productions. It is proposed, there-
fore, in this sketch, to bring together in a general view the principal
characteristics of each division ; to contrast them ; and finally to enu-
merate the minerals collected, giving their description and analysis as
far as it could be performed.
After quitting the limestone on the banks of the Kistnah [to be
hereafter mentioned], granite alone is the basis of the country, even to
the Godavery.
Certain characteristics belong to it throughout, which sufficiently
mark its identity and contemporaneous formation. They are,
1st. The great irregularity of extent and direction of the ranges.
2nd. The narrow but lengthened veins or dykes of trap with which
it is intersected, all running nearly in the same direction, and the
masses of micaceous and sienitic granite with which it is intermixed.
3rd. The predominance of the red colour, arising from the red fel-
spar, which is frequently in large crystals, giving the granite a por-
phyritic appearance.
• Colonel Lambton computes the height of Hyderabad, above the level of the
•et, to be 1800 feet.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
800 Voytey** Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. [Jim*,
4th. The concentric lamellar and distinct concrete structure ; the
great facility of decomposition ; the rounded appearance of the decom-
posed masses, logging stones, and tors.
5th. The numerous lakes or tanks spread all over the country, some
of which are of very large dimensions.
1st. The granite is rarely seen in ranges until a near approach to Hy*
derabad ; when it first appears after crossing the Kistnah, it is seen
principally in rounded blocks, scattered without order, and in flat masses
of large dimensions, very little elevated above the surface. These how-
ever increase in size and height as we proceed to the north westward,
where in the waving plain, in which the two remarkable hills of Nelgondah
are situated, numerous rounded isolated hills are seen spread over it in
every direction, unconnected even by their bases. The hill of Nelgow-
dah presents the first approach to the continued range ; its summit is
about 1000 feet above the plain, declining gradually to the north-west
until it reaches that level. At Mulkapdr more regular granitic ranges
in the same direction appear, and are continued to Hyderabad, not
without frequent interruptions, and the interposition of large isolated
mountains of solid granite. Here, however, it must be observed, the
granite assumes a new character, derived from the numerous logging
stones and tors of the most grotesque figures and extraordinary posi-
tion. The origin of these logging stones may be traced to the tors,
which are masses of tabular granite, generally not more than two or
three in number, the interstices of which, admitting the rain, subject the
granite to a more rapid decomposition in those than in other parts of
the masses, and ultimately give them the rounded forms and tottering
bases* observed.
It may be asked, wherefore other rocks, such as greenstone and
basalt, do not assume similar appearances in decomposition ? It is pro-
bable that a sufficiently satisfactory reason may be assigned in the
different directions of their interstices, which in the granite are hori-
zontal, whilst in the above-named rocks they are vertical.
The last place to north-west where these logging stones were ob-
served is Bichkunda, in latitude nearly parallel to Oudgir, and not far
distant from the place where the granite becomes every where covered
by the trap.
Three formations of quartz rock have been observed, viz. at Secon-
der abad, Jogipet, and Pitlam, the base of the whole being granite. That
• See description of the logging stones in Cornwall, in the Transactions of the
Geological Society.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
W3*.] Voysey's Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. 301
of Jogipet is the most extensive, being three or four miles in length,
above fifty feet high in its highest part, and three or four hundred yard*
in breadth. It is crystallized in rhombs. Some of the angles are
very perfect. — 2nd. The number of trap veins which have been particu-
larly noticed amount to seven, four of which are in the neighbourhood of
Hyderabad* one at Koalas, and two in the neighbourhood of Maidak.
The vein which passes near Golcondah has been traced to the eastward
nearly six miles, and is said to be continued nineteen miles farther. They
all resemble each other in composition, in their direction (nearly east
and west), and in other particulars, of which a more detailed description
will be offered in a paper devoted particularly to the description of the
country around Hyderabad. — 3rd. From Mulkapdr to the Godavery the
granite is most usually red and porphyritic. The red granite is much
more subject to decomposition than the white, from the abundance of
iron contained in the felspar. The granite of Nelgondah is the whit-
est, particularly that from the summit of the mountain. The mixture
of micaceous and sienitic granite, in veins and in rounded lumps, has
been observed at Tuperty, at Nelgondah, at JSecanderabad, and in the
bed of the Manjera near Suldapuram. — 4th. It will be easily seen from
the previous description of the ranges, that numerous small valleys and
plains must exist with such an arrangement of mountains. These
valleys covered with water during the rainy season are artificially
divided by large, and in some instances, by stupendous banks or mounds
of stones or earth, leaving outlets for the passage of the water collect-
td in the upper part, to fertilize the lower grounds during the dry
season. The ground by these means is enabled to produce two crops
of rice in the year, with sometimes an intermediate one of the holcus
saccharatus Qowar) ; but this depends on a peculiarity of the soil, to
be adverted to in the description of the trap country. On the borders
of the lakes or tanks thus formed are seen the date and palmyra trees
in great profusion, whilst the water itself is covered with aquatic birds
and waders. Within about 20 miles radius from the station of Suldapur,
on a misty morning, thirty-three of these lakes were counted, most of
them of considerable dimensions. On the granite hills, in the inter*
iticea of the rocks and on the barren soil, the result of their decompo--
tition, are only seen dwarfish plants of the custard-apple, cassia auri-
culata, butea frondosa, and a few others. Large trees are only seen
in the valleys, where the soil is intermixed with richer materials, and
water is more abundant.
These are the principal characteristics of the granite country as seen
>t Hyderabad, Maidak, BanckapUly, Koulas, &c»
Digiti
zed by G00gle
SOI Vby&ey's Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. [Juki,
. The next division of the country consisting of basaltic trap is inter*
eating from many causes : they are, viz.
; 1st. Its appearance on the upper half or summit only of some of
the granite hills.
2nd. Its transition from a highly crystalline compound of felspar
and hornblende (the greenstone of Wsrnbe) to coarse and fine basalt,
to wacken, and to iron clay, the passage being sometimes so gradual
from one to the other, as to give the intermediate mineral an indeter-
minate character.
3rd. The direction and peculiar form of its ranges, the waving form
of the land in some instances, and, in others, its flatness and conical
peaks.
4th. The intermixture of carbonate of lime with the wacken, the
basalt, and even with some of the granite in the neighbourhood of the
trap.
5th. The black cotton soil, arising generally from the decomposi-
tion of the basaltic trap, forming the banks of the rivers, and covering
their neighbouring plains. It is also found at a considerable distance
from that rock, and on heights so elevated as to preclude this cause in
attempting to explain its origin.
1st. At Tandmanur, Suldapuram, Madcondah, Koalas, Baktapur, and
Adampilr, the granite forms the basis of the hill, and sometimes its
lpwer half, and is covered by the trap, which in some instances has
the appearance of having flowed partly down the hill when in a fluid
state. In the immediate neighbourhood are hills, whose summits al-
though much lower, shew no trace of the trap rock having once covered
them. In one instance, the hill of Koalas, a vein of trap crosses one
of these hills, but its appearance indicates rather an ejection from below
than a deposit from above : it affords at the same time a good example
of the identity of the greenstone, the basalt, and the wacken.
. 2nd. The places the most remarkable for the changes which the
basalt undergoes are Buktapur, where it passes into wacken, Koalas,
as above-mentioned, Beder, where the iron clay passes into both. The
basalt is not always the lowest, as its greater specific gravity would lead
one to presuppose, but is frequently above wacken. It is, however*
always found beneath the iron clay. As a general description of the
basalt, it may be observed, that it decomposes into round masses, hav-
ing an exterior crust of a few lines in breadth, of a yellow or lighter co-
lour than the interior. In the ravines, and where exposed to any depth*
it resembles very much the drawings in vol. viii. page 171, Thompsons
Annals, of the Rowley Rag Basalt. Basaltic columns were observable
zed by G00gle
1633.] Voyiey'g Report on the Otology of Hyderabad. ft*
in two places only, at Mu ngdnal and at Oudgir ; at the latter place,
the largest exceeded a metre in diameter, was about three feet in
height, eight-sided, and the interstices between the columns were filled
with green earth and globular wacken.
3rd. The direction of these ranges is to the north-west, although the
interruptions are numerous, and it frequently happens that a range
appears to cross at right angles to the main one. Their form is gener-
ally much flattened, with two or three conical peaks ; sometimes the
continuation of the flat range is interrupted by a valley, which presents
the appearances of the embrasure of a fortification, which is repeated
several times in an extent of ten or twelve miles. The summits of
Tmdmanur, Medcondah, Burgapilli, Monegal, and Mungdnal are of
waving land, rounded summits, separated by ravines of different depths,
which in the rainy season afford a passage for the water into the
plains, depositing on the banks of the streams and rivers the black
cotton soil, which is the result of the decomposition of the trap rocks.
4th. At Bucktapur, at Shwalingapah, at the Qodavery, at the Laendy
river, near Daigltir, and at Chilliriga, near the Mangera, carbonate of
time it intermixed with the rock, whether sienitic, greenstone, granite,
basalt, or wacken.
At Daigldr large rounded masses of a small grained red granite are
enveloped in a cement composed of carbonate of lime, red felspar, and
quartz in grains : this extends to a few miles above and below the
ford. At ChUliriga the basalt and wacken, or substance intermediate,
is mixed with a greenish limestone which has large vacuities in it, from
its decomposition taking place more slowly than the trap with which
it is mixed. In the space of a few feet pure basalt is here seen pass-
ing into wacken, and the latter into the mixture of limestone, which
last ultimately passes into pure limestone.
5th. The black cotton soil is not only found on the banks of all the
rivers and streams generally, to the height of about thirty feet, and
where it has been deposited by floods, but also in places two or three
hundred feet above those rivers. On the road from Beder to Shela-
pUhj, which lies over a stratum of iron clay, varying from 100 to 150
feet in thickness, four well defined zones of black cotton soil are cross-
ed, runamg north and south and lying between ridges of iron clay. We
encamped at Skelapilly on one of these zones, which had nearly a north
sad south direction, and from a conical elevation, forty feet in height,
composed of the same soil, observed the iron clay on each side about
half a furlong distant. This soil is rich and peculiarly adapted to the
cultivation of dry grains, which denomination is given to various species
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S04 Voysey'e Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. [Jim,
of panicum, the holcm saceharatus, maise, zea, Ac. from its power of
retaining moisture, which enables it withoat artificial irrigation to
produce fine crops daring the dry season. The plasticity, as found t
foot below the surface in the month of March, is such that it could be
kneaded into balls with the hand. In some places where the black
cotton soil is intermixed with that from the decomposition of the granite,
three crops are produced, two of rice and one of dry grain, the latter
on the ground from which the first crop of rice has been cut.
This soil is first met with at Patancherd, where it is intermixed with
the debris of the granite, and has been no doubt deposited there by
the floods of the Manjera, from which it is distant about ten miles. A
corresponding change also takes place in the appearance of the country,
which assumes a richer aspect : the natural productions of each soil
being there intermixed.
The hills from which this soil proceeds have formerly been culti-
vated even to their summits. In most places small piles of stones,
formerly cleared from the land, and occasionally the remains of a stone
boundary, were the only memorials of former cultivation. The pot
cynosuroides fCusa grassj grows in the greatest profusion ; it is ren-
dered so dry in the months of March and April, that a very slight
ignition will cause it to burn with inconceivable rapidity and fury.
Our camp was once in considerable danger from this circumstance.
The vegetable productions most frequently met with are, the
Butea frondosa, Ficus, three species.
Cassia Malabarica, Tectona grandis,
Bemecarpus anacardium, Tamarindus Indica,
Averrhoa carambola, Mangifera Indica,
Dalbergia acuminata, Spondias Mangifera.
Mimosa, six species, and many others which my botanical knowledge
did not enable me to name without the aid of their flowers. All these
seem to acquire their greatest perfection in the places where the two
above-mentioned soils are intermixed.
It only remains to notice some anomalous appearances in the trap
it Medcondah, and in the wacken at SMvalingapdk.
At the former of these places was observed in numerous detached
masses, flint with a very rough external surface, varying from a few
inches to a foot and a half in diameter, some of them deeply connected,
so that their size may be supposed much greater ; also numerous piece*
of a siliceous stone containing shells*, the specific gravity of which varies
* Turbo cydostoma, land-shells.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
J<*wA*.Sec fC.Xm.
ipvi isp • v wfooof yvy
y*tfi w>oy /#>/ iHxtf yy
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Reputed Descendants of Alexander. 305
from 2 to 2*5. The shells do not effervesce in acids/ although some of.
them still preserve their external polish. Internally some of these
stones, particularly the lighter, appear to pass into flint, whilst their
external surface effervesces in acids.
Not far distant, lumps of a greyish yellow limestone, crystalline, and.
earthy, the latter containing shells nearly similar to those in the sili-
ceous stone.
At Shtvolingapah the wacken contains shells which preserve more of
their carbonate of lime. Those appearances are the more singular,
since the land at Medcondah is a continuation of the basaltic trap at
an elevation of nearly 2000 feet above the level of the sea, distant
from the Manjera 14 miles, and 200 feet above the bed of that river.
III. — On the reputed Descendants of Alexander the Great, in the Valley
of the Oxus. By Lieut. Alexander Burnes, Bombay Army.
[Read at the Meeting of the AiUtfc Society, 29th May, 1833.] ^
In speaking of the existence of Grecian colonies in the remote
regions of Central Asia, said to be descended from Alexander of Mace-
don, it is necessary to premise, that I am not indulging in speculation;
but asserting a lineage of various tribes of people, that is claimed by
themselves, and merits therefore our attention. Marco Polo is the
first author who mentions the existence of such a people, and informs
us that the Mrer of Badakhshan laid claim to a Grecian origin. The
emperor Barer corroborates the testimony, and the historian of his
grand-son Akbar, the renowned Abul Fazl, points to the country
of the Siahposh Kafirs, north of Peshawar, as the seat of these soi-
disant Macedonians. Mr. Elphinstone has, I think, successfully
refuted this supposition, for the Kafirs are a savage and mountainous
tribe, without a tradition on the subject.
The great elevation of their country appears to me satisfactorily to
account for all their physical peculiarities, nor can I look upon these
people as any other than the aborigines of the plains, who fled to their
present elevated abode in the wars that followed the introduction of
Muhammedanism. Kafir means simply an infidel, and is applied by
Mohammedans to all who disbelieve in their prophet. Mr. Elphinstone
confirms the statement of Marco Polo by telling us, that the chief of
Danodx, in the valley of the Oxus, claimed a descent from Alexander,
which was admitted by all his neighbours. Such was the extent of
information with which I entered the valley of that river* sufficient it
ft ft
Digiti
zed by G00gle
306 On some reputed Descendants " [Jctri,
will be said to excite the utmost cariosity, and it will be seen that I found
ample encouragement in the investigation of such traditions while in
the very seats of their existence.
If it was believed that the chiefs of Badakhshdn and Darmds
alone laid claim to these hereditary honors, what was my surprise to
find that there were six other personages established in them* at least
to the satisfaction of the people. The chiefs that extend eastward of
Darwaz, and occupy the provinces of KUlab-shagndn and Wdkkan, norm
of the Oxus, assert the same descent. The Mkbr or chief of Badakh*
than receives in modern times the honors mentioned by the Venetian
traveller. He has the title of Shah and Mdlik, or king, and his chil-
dren, that of Shdhzddd or Prince ; but this ancient house has been
subverted within these twelve years by the Mbbr of Kund&z, and B*»
dakhshdn is now held by a Turk family. To the eastward of Badakh-
shdn, and extending to Kashmir, lie the hill states of Chitral, Gilgit,
and Iskardo, where the claims to a Grecian descent are likewise con-
ceded to each of the princes. The first of these has the title of Shah
Kator. The present ruler is of small stature, and possesses as great a
celebrity in these countries for his long beard as the Shah of Persia.
The chief of Iskardo occupies a singular fortress on the Indus and N.
E. of Kashmir, which he has the hardihood to assert was constructed
in the days of Alexander himself ! This country borders on little Thi-
bet or Balti. Nor is this the ultimate limit of the tradition ; for the
soldiers of the Tungani tribe, who are sent from the western provin-
ces of China, and garrison Ydrkand and the neighbouring cities, also
claim a Grecian origin. They however seek with greater modesty a
descent from the soldiers of Alexander's army, and not from the con-
queror himself.
Such is a correct list of the reputed descendants of Alexander
the Great, and it is in some degree confirmatory of their claim, that
the whole of these princes are Tdjiks, or the aborigines of this country
before it was overrun by Turki or Tatar tribes. But how shall we
reconcile these accounts with the histories that have travelled down
to our times, whence we learn that the son of Philip did not even leave
an heir to inherit his gigantic conquests, much less a numerous list of
colonies that have survived a lapse of more than two thousand years in
a distant quarter of Asia ? Whether their descent is viewed as true or
fabulous, the people themselves acknowledge the hereditary dignity of
the princes, and they in their turn claim every royal honor and refuse
their children in marriage to other tribes. These Tdjiks, being now con-
verted to Islam, view Alexander as a prophet, and to the distinction
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Of Alexander the Great. 30?
which they derive from his warlike achievements, they add the honor of
being related to one of the inspired messengers of the Deity. I have
had opportunities of conversing with some members of the Badakhshdn
family, but there was nothing in form or feature which favored their
Grecian lineage, nor is there any thing in the languages of any of these
tribes (of all of which I have specimens), that indicate a connexion with
Greece. The people are fair complexioned, and not unlike the Persians
of modern times, while there is the most decided contrast between
them and the Turks and Uzbeks.
We learn from the historians of Alexander's expedition that he
warred in the kingdom of Bactriana. The city of BcUkh, that lies in
the vicinity of these territories, is readily fixed upon as that capital of
the Greek monarchs. Setting aside every local identity, the modern
inhabitants will inform you that the country between Bilkh and Cdbul
has the name of " Bakhtar Zemin" or the Bakhtar country, in which
we recognise Bactria. This fact renders it by no means impossible,
that a Grecian colony had some time or other existed in the country*
It may therefore be supposed, that the dynasty which succeeded Alex-
ander in his empire ascended the valley of the Oxus, the fertility of
which would attract them. They would then be conducted by Chitrai
and Iskardo into BaUi or little Thibet, and the neighbourhood of
Kashmir, and we may perhaps account for the early civilization of that
beautiful valley in such a migration of Grecian colonists. The intro-
duction of the religion of Muhammed into every country seems to have
been fatal to historical annals of a prior sera, and I doubt not, that any
traces which may have existed of the Macedonian inroad, or of the
Seleucidae, their successors, disappeared in that great revolution. The
countries on the upper course of the Oxus lay beyond the line of Tatdr
invasion, and I infer from the modern language of Badakhshdn, which
ia Persian, and its connexion with that country, that the tribes on the
Oxus followed the destinies of the Persian empire. This would favor
the supposition of their having been conquered by Alexander. If we
cannot bring ourselves to concede to these moderns the illustrious
lineage of Alexander the Great, we must still receive their traditions
as the most concurring proof of his having overrun these countries ;
and till some well-grounded argument can be brought forward to the
contrary, I cannot for my own part deny the title of the chiefs to the
honors which they claim. I received the information from natives of
these countries, and as they entertained no doubt of its truth and
tuthenticity, I have contented myself with recording that, upon which
others will be able to enlarge and speculate.
r r 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
308 On the " Topes" and Grecian [Jun,
TV. — On the " Topes" and Grecian Remains in the Panjdb. By Lieut.
Alexander Burnes, Bombay Army. 4
[RMdAttheMtetlngoftheSDUiMay.] ^ '
The " tope" or mound oi Manikydla in the Panjdb, which is described
and drawn in Mr. Elph in stone's History of Cabul, has long arrested
the notice of the curious, both in India and Europe, some of whom
take it to be a Grecian remain. We are deeply indebted to M. Ven-
tura, one of the Generals in Ranji't Singh's service, who lately laid
open this mound at great expense, and put us in possession of orach
additional information regarding it. In my late journey through the
Panjdb I went to Manikydla, and was fortunate enough to find serenl
coins at that site, and to visit other buildings of a similar description to
the "tope," which had not yet been seen or examined by Europeans.
I was directed to the site of these by my friends Mons. Allard and
Court, who are also in Ranji't Singh's service ; through the kindness
of Mons. Allard, I had an opportunity when at Lahore of looking at
the reliques found by General Ventura at Manikydla.
There is a brief description of them published in the researches of
the Asiatic Society, but I may here observe that they consist of three
cylindrical boxes, of gold, of pewter, (or some mixed metal,) and of iron,
which were found cased one within another, and placed in a chamber cat
out in a large block of stone at the foundation of the pile. The gold box
is about three inches long and one inch and a half in diameter ; it is
filled with a black dirty substance like mud, half liquid and mixed up
with small pieces of glass, or amber, which would suggest an opinion,
of its once being cased in a glass that had been fractured and shiver-
ed. Amoug this substance two coins or medals and a piece of string'
or twine were found. The smaller coin is of gold, and about the size
of a six-pence, having a human figure, and the four pronged instrument
which marks all the Minikydla coins. The other has two lines of rode
characters, probably Hindu, on one side, and no writing or symbol on
the reverse. Many other coins and reliques were found during the
opening of the " tope," and the people informed me that some human
bones were also disinterred ; but it is unnecessary to make any further
allusion to them on the present occasion.
On my arrival at Manikydla on the 6th of March, 1832, I had an
opportunity of appreciating the valuable services of M. Ventura, by a
personal inspection of the " tope," now laid open to view by his per-
severing labours. He had first endeavoured to enter the building
from below, but failed on account of the great solidity of the structure;
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Remains in the Panjdb. J0A
farther observation had discovered to him that there was a shaft of
well (if I can use the expression) descending into the building from
the top of it, and here M. Ventura dug' with success. He first cleared
the well which extends about half way down, and is flagged at the
bottom with large blocks of stone ; he completed the work by heaving
op these enormous blocks till he reached the foundation, where he was
rewarded by the cylinders which I have described.
I was much struck with the position of the "tope" oi Manikyala.
It stands on a spacious plain, and may be distinguished at a distance of
sixteen miles. I did not expect in a place of such celebrity to find
my search for coins and antiques rewarded beyond the most sanguine
expectation, since none are mentioned to have been seen by the gen*
tlemen of the CabUl Mission, and I only heard of those that M.
Ventura had found in the tope. I procured however two antiques
and about 60 or 80 copper coins, the value of which is much heightened
by their corresponding with some of those that M. Ventura found in
the interior of the " tope." One of the antiques is a ruby or piece
of red crystal, cut into the shape of a head, with a frightful countenance
and very long ears. While the other is an oval cornelian, bearing the
figure of a woman holding a flower. She is gracefully dressed in a
mantle, and the execution is superior*.
There have been several surmises thrown out as to the site of
Mcnikydla, but I do not for a moment hesitate to fix it as Taxilla, since
Aerian expressly tells us, that that was the most populous " city be-
tween the Indus and Hydaspes." On the latter river too I have been so
fortunate as to stumble on the ruins of two cities opposite to each
other, in which I believe will be recognized the Nicae and Bucephalia
of Alexander.
From the tope of Manikyala my inquiries extended to the neighbour-
ing country, where several other buildings of a like nature are to be
found. One of them is nearer the town of Rdwil Pindi, but it is much
dilapidated, and my attention was directed to the village of Usmdn, at
the base of the Himalaya, and about 25 miles eastward of the Indus.
On the north of a range of hills, and about a mile beyond the village,
stands the "tope of Belar" as it is called by the inhabitants. I have
annexed a sketch of this building, from which it may be inferred as of
the same era as Manikyala. Neither of the buildings are perfect, and
the tope of Belar differs in its greater length of body, though it has
• I regret extremely to say, that I have lost these valuable reliques, though im-
ireasioai of them remain.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S10 Note on Lieutenant Burnet* [Jcm^
only a height of 50 feet, or 20 less than Manikydla. The general out*
line of the building too is somewhat varied, but the small pilasters
are to be recognized, though the mouldings are numerous. Hie tope of
Belar too has been opened from the top at some former period, and a
section of it would present a counterpart of the plan of ManihftU.
The few coins which I found here are similar to those of that tope, but
no where did I receive the least trace or tradition regarding these
buildings.
Like one in search of the philosopher's stone, I found myself r e feu e d
from place to place, and at Usmdn heard of a "tope" near Petkawer,
which I afterwards visited. It is about five miles from the city, bat
in so decayed a condition that the remains would not suggest any idea
of the design without seeing those of the Panjdb, though they were one
hundred feet high. There is however a "tope" in a perfect state of
repair in the great Khyber pass to Cdbul, and about 20 miles from
Peshdwar, but I could not visit that building from the troubled state of
the country. The natives of Peshdwar assured me also that there
were 8 or 10 such " topes" in their neighborhood towards the Kefir
country in Swat and Buneir, but the extent of their information leads
no farther than that they are " topes" or mounds of a prior age.
Seeing that the structures of Manikydla and Belar are both pierced
by a shaft or well, descending into the building, I incline to an opinion
that in these " topes" we have the tombs of a race of princes who
once reigned in upper India; and that they are either the sepulchres of
the Bactrian dynasty or their Indo-Scythic successors, mentioned in the
Feriplus of the second Arrian.
V. — Note on Lieutenant Burnes' Collection of Ancient Coin*. By James
Prinsep, Sec. SfC. £*
[Read 29th May, 1833.]
Considering the short space of time allowed to a traveller, in his
rapid passage through a foreign country, for the pursuit of objects not
immediately connected with his errand ; and the disadvantages which
his own disguise, and. the suspicions of the natives oppose to his search
after the very rare relics of antiquity, which may have escaped destruc-
tion for twenty centuries in their country : — considering too that the
inhabitants are unable to appreciate the value of such objects, and
mostly ignorant of the demand for them among the inquisitive natives
of the west ; lieutenant Bu&nbs may be deemed very successful in the
Digitized by
Google
1 S33 .} Collection of Ancient Coins. SI 1
store of coins he has brought back from the Panjab and from the valley
of the Oxos.
Of pore fiactrian coinB, he will be able to add at least three to the
cabinets of Europe; upon one of which the name of Euthydbmus is
quite distinct : while of the Indo-Scythic or subsequent dynasties his
store is so ample as to afford ten for the Bombay Literary Society, and
as many more for our own cabinet, besides those he takes to Europe ;
and among the latter is one coin of the dynasty which supplanted the
Macedonian princes of Bactria, calculated to excite much curiosity
among antiquarians.
This abstruse subject is already deriving elucidation from the dis-
covery of coins in many places, which is a forcible proof of the ad-
vantage of giving early publicity to such discoveries, and to the
comments of antiquarians upon them : already has Dr. Swinbt at Kar-
nal, following up his former researches, fallen upon two silver coins
of Apollodotus and Menander, neither of them duplicates of the two
which rewarded Colonel Tod's labours. I hope soon to have it in my
power to engrave these coins as a continuation of the plate I am now
about to describe, in illustration of some of Lieutenant Burnbs' col-
lection. Captain Wade has also presented me with a few coins, obtained
in his recent tour down the Satlej. To General Ventura however we
still look for our richest harvest, because his coins have a definite con-
nection with an existing monument ; and when that meritorious officer
shall see how Lieutenant Burnes has taught us to appreciate his labours
at Manikydla, we hope he will no lopger think us unworthy of being
made the medium of their introduction to the knowledge of the world.
Macedonian and Syrian Coin*.
Having given in Plate V. a type of the coins of Alexander, I need
not stop to describe those brought from Persia by our traveller, a
tetradrachma and two small coins of that conqueror in excellent pre-
servation ; the larger coin has a curious cypher composed of the letters
pnh enclosed in a wreath; in numerals this would represent 148.
Captain Wade has presented me with a rarer silver coin of Alexander,
having a fine juvenile portrait of the conqueror before he assumed the
horn of Ammon ; and, on the reverse, Apollo seated on the peculiar
oracular seat, holding an arrow pointed downwards, in the right hand
(denoting clemency) ; his left hand resting upon a bow.
The epigraphe is basiaeos aaeeanapot OEonATOPOl ETEPrETor.
On the exergue, the letter o ; and on the left, a peculiar three-pronged
monogram, resembling the letter a.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Zl% Note ob Lieutenant Burnet* [Jem,
This coin is not mentioned by Pinkbrton, and would doubtless be
designated by him rrrr or rarissimus. It is engraved as fig. 1 of
Plate VIII. (of coins) ; it was procured in Asia Minor by Dr. Martix,
the German physician, lately in Ran ji't Singh's service, and by him
given to Captain Wade.
To return to Lieutenant Burnbs* collection.
PL VII. fig. 1 , represents one of three beautiful coins of Antiochti
VI. or Theos, of Syria, during whose war with Ptolbmt Phi-
ladrlphus, Bactria revolted. These are supposed by Pines*
ton to exhibit the most perfect examples, both of manly and
of monetal beauty, to be found among ancient medals. They
are however common enough. The Epigraphe is, BA2IAE&2
ANTIOXOT Eni*ANOT2. Device, Jupiter seated, holding a small
victory.
Fig. 2. Another Antjochus, probably struck in Parthia, from the figoit
of the javelin -thrower.
Bactrian Coins.
Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6. These silver coins, tetradrachms, are known at once
to be of Bactrian origin, from the sitting figure of Heresies
holding his club, on the reverse, much in the same posture as
that of Jupiter on the Syro-Macedonian coins. The epigraphe
on fig. 3, a valuable coin and in fine preservation, is BA2UE02
etotahm. . or " of king Euthtdbmus," the third king of Bac-
tria. The only coin of this monarch hitherto known in Europe
is described in Mionnet's Description de Medailles Antiques;
Pinkbrton says it is a gold coin, having" two horsemen with
Bactrian tiaras, palms, and long spears" on the reverse ; it is
therefore quite different from the unique specimen before us.
Fig. 4 has the features of a different prince ; the reverse is however
similar to the last, and the three final letters of BA21AE03 are
visible: as are ..hm.. which can only form part either of
EvOuS HMof or of mviirrpiot his son.
Fig. 5, of which there is a duplicate, is of a similar nature ; the features
corresponding with No. 3 or Euthtdbmus. There are two
others of still ruder fabrication, distinguished by a more pro-
jecting forehead : they are illegible on the reverse.
Fig, 6. One of two silver tetradachms. These are more like Arsacidan
coins, the stool on which the figure on the reverse sits having
the form of those depicted in Vaillant, although the connection ,
with the foregoing coins is very strong, the head dress and
Digitized by
Google
MS3.J Collection of Ancient Coins. 313
formal curls, appertain to the Persian monarchs. The in-
scription is in the Pehlevi character : some of the letters resem-
ble badly executed Greek.
These coins are all from Khoja-o-ban, the ruins of an ancient city N. W.
of Bokhara, whence numerous gems and antiques were also procured.
Fie. 8, was obtained from the same place. A gold coin of one of the
Sassanian kings of Persia, supposed to be Sapor (ShapUr). The
name and titles are very distinct in the Pehlevi character. It
is remarkable that the usual supporters of the fire altar, two
priests or kings, are omitted ; unless indeed the rude ornaments
on each side are intended to represent human figures holding
swords. A silver Sassanian coin delineated in Htdb'b Religio
Veterum Persarum has similar supporters. Lieut. Burnbs has
also a silver Sassani a n coin ; it is curious from the contour of
the fire altar being fashioned into a human profile ; it was
found at Khiva. I have not found room to insert it.
Ftg. 9. One of twenty small Sassanian copper coins, which are
very abundant in the same neighbourhood. They have a good
head on the obverse, and a very rudely executed fire altar on
the reverse*.
Ftg. 7. A square copper coin from 8horkot,h, a fortress twenty miles
from the junction of the Jelum and the Ckundb (the Hydaspes
and Acesines) where Alexander lost his fleet in a storm.
It is by some thought to be the fortress of the Malli, in the
assault of which he was wounded. All that can be read of
the inscription is baxiaehx. . . . On the other side the inscrip-
tion is in Pehlevi. This coin may be ascribed with tolerable cer-
tainty to Menander, both because it resembles in shape the
coin of that prince in CoI.Tod's plate, and because the three
first letters of the word which follows baxiaeax have much
die appearance of nik, or nikatopos, the epithet applied to
Mbnandbr according to Schlbgbl. 'Journal Asiatique, Nov.
1828. The standing figure however, on the obverse, and the
curious emblem on the reverse, supposed by Col. Tod to be a
portable altar, agree rather with his coin of Apollodotus.
PI. Vlll.fig. 2. I must here introduce a coin procured from the same
place by General Ventura, for which I am indebted to Captain
* A gold tolidui of the lower empire was also found at Khqja-o-t&n, of rude fa-
brication : — it is either of MarcUnus, or more probably Mauricius — inscription
DN MAVRC. . Tib PP AV6. On the reverse, an angel holding the cross and globe
with VICTORIA AVGGG. and below, CONOB.
s s
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$14 ffoto on Lieutenant Burnet* [iuwi,
Wadk ; it it a copper or brass coin of Antiocbus* BjtfiAEos
ANTlOXOT, with a Grecian head on the obverse, and the per-
spective view of the after part of a boat on the reverse : the
tiller of the rudder is worked from behind, as is even now the
case in the river craft of the Indus.
. A ruby seal antique, with a well-executed head of a Grecian female,
was found at the same place.
Figs. 11, 12, 13, 15. The series of small copper coins found near i/«-
mkydla, and generally throughout upper India, which have a
head on the obverse and aBactrian horseman on the reverse, may
be referred to the reign of Eucrahdss I. since the gold coin
from the neighbourhood of the Caspian Sea, described by Batik,
as having the same device on the reverse bears in legi-
ble characters the epigraphe " of the great king Euceatidbs."
Our coins of this type have never shewn us more than the words
" King of kings," and in most of them (as fig. 13, eaciakt
BACIaet) the Greek is so corrupted as to give the idea of a later
epoch.
The type of the horse seems to have prevailed long a ft er war d* in
that part of the world, as fig. 14 evinces : it is a Hindu coin, of modi
later though of unknown date. The nagri letters appear to be part df
a larger inscription : their purport rs therefore uncertain.
Fig. 10. A copper coin procured by Lieut. Buunbs, in the neighbour-
hodd of Manikydla.
Gbveree. A king or warrior holding a spear in the left hand ; and with
the right sacrificing on a small altar (?). Epigraphe Baciaet
BAO......KANHPKOT,,
C
Reverse* A priest or sage standing, and holding a flower in his right
hand; a glory encircles his head ; on the left, the letters nanaia
-—on the right, the usual Bactrian monogram with four prongs.
This coin is of very great value, from the circumstance of its being
the only one out of many discovered in the same neighbourhood, upon
which the characters are sufficiently legible to afford a due to the
Prince's name. In the onset, however we are disappointed to find
that none of the recorded names of the Bactrian kings at all resemble
that before us* ; yet there can be no doubt about any letter but mat
* By Way of convenience to those who hare not the power of reference respect-
ing the history of Bactria, to Which I may often have to allude in the dascuaskm
of these coins, I subjoin a catalogue of its Kings, according to the authority of
Scblxqel.— Journal Aiiatique, 1828,} p, 326.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Collection of Ancient Coi*s. $14
preceding kot, which may be either G, *, or C. By assuming
this latitude in the reading I discovered a name which would agree as
nearly as it could be expressed in Greek, with kanhokot or kanhCKOT;
and should my conjecture prove correct, the discovery of this coin will be
hailed as of the greatest value by all who are engaged in the newly deve-
loped study of Bactrian antiquity. The coin was at first placed with the
Society by Lieut. Burnbb, but seeing its value, I thought it but just,
after taking impressions and drawings of it, to place it in the disco-
verer's hands, for the personal satisfaction of numismatologists in
Europe. I suppose it to be a coin of Kanishka, a Tartar or Scythic
conqueror of Bactria.
According to Mr. Csoma db Roads, the name of Kaniska occurs
in the Tibetan works as a celebrated king in the north of India, who
reigned at Kapila, which is supposed to have been in Rohilkhand, or
near Hardwar. His reign dates about 400 years after Sakta, when
the followers of the Buddha religion had become divided into eighteen
sects (the Sakya tribes, or SacaJ under four principal divisions, of
which the names both Sanscrit and Tibetan are on record*.
In Mr. Wilson's Chronological Table of the History of Kashmir (A*.
Res. xv. p. 81,) we find " Hushca, Jushca, and Canishca, three Tartar
princes, who succeeded Domodara* in the kingdom of Kashmir, either
reigning successively or synchronously. They introduced the Buddha
religion under a hierarch named Naoajuuna, and were, according to
the Raja Tarmgini, of Turushca or Tatar origin. The Sanscrit MS.
places their reign 150 years before Sacoysinha (or Sakta Singh), but
the learned translator in a note proves that the text was at first misun-
B. C. 255. Theodotus I. -v
243. Theodotus II. > Filed historically by Strabo, &c.
220. Euthtdemus of Magnesia. *
195. Apollodotus soter. 1 **#? * b * Etutarch Tr °^ a
Menander nieator. \™ d A T an ' *** COiRB Wf ** 1 *
J Baroach, A. D. 200.
Heliocles piKAiot. i ° n the * uthorit y of Viaconti and
I Mionnet, from a single medal.
Demetrius. f Son of Eutbydemus, doubtful if
| he reigned in Bactria.
[ Art*
I King.'
181. Eucratidis I. 1 Artemidorua calls him the " Great
I Kin*."
146. Eucratides II 1 Murdered his father and was him-
» I self slain.
125. Destruction oi the empire by the Tattaraand the Scythians or Sacat.
• Csom a'b Life of Saeya, MS.
8 8 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
US Note on Lieutenant Burnt*' (Jim.
4er»tood, and that the passage intended to express " 150 years after
the emancipation of the Lord Sakya Sinha."
The epoch of Sakya, (the fifth Buddha, or Goutama,) it determined
by concurrent testimony of the Ceylonese, Siamese, Pegue, Burmese, and
Chinese teras, which are all founded on the birth or death of the Bad-
dha legislator, and* though all differing more or less, concur in. placing
him between the limits of 544 and 638 years B. C. : the Raj G4rt
of Asam, a Pundit well versed in Buddha literature, fixes the iVtraa*
or emancipation of Sakta-Muni in 520 B. C* Taking then from
this epoch an interval of four hundred years to the reign of Kakisea,
the latter would fall near the end of the second century B. C. We
know from other sources, that the overthrow of the Bactrian dynasty
by the Scythian or Sakyan tribes happened in 134 B. C. (125 by
Schlbgel.) The present coin therefore confirms the fidelity of the Raja
Taringini as a historical work, and leaves no doubt of the epoch of Saxta,
Mr. Wil&ok finds grounds for throwing back the termination of
the reign of Abhimanya Canishca's successor, from B. C. 118, as
given in the Raja Taringini, to B. C. 388, because " Kashmir be-
came a Buddha country under Tartar princes shortly after the death of
Sakya ;" but from Mr. Csoma's subsequent examination of the Tibetan
sacred books, in which the three periods of their compilation are ex-
pressly stated; " first, under Sakya himself (520—638 B. C.)
then under Asboka, king of Pataliputra, 110 years after the decease of
Sakya, and lastly by Kaniska, upwards of 400 years after Sakya"—
little doubt can remain that the epoch as it stands in the Raja Tarm-
gini is correct,
There are other circumstances connected with the Bactrian coins, which
tend to confirm the supposition of a Buddhist succession to the Greek
princes. In the first place, the reverse ceases to bear the formerly na-
tional emblem of the Bactrian horseman with the Macedonian spear,
and in its place a sage appears holding a flower, and invariably having a
glory round his head, proving him to be a sacred personagef ; secondly,
although upon the first coins of the dynasty we find the inscription in
Greek characters — (a custom which prevailed under the Arsacidx
also, and continued under the first Sassanian princes ;) still upon coins
of the same device, but probably of later fabric, we find the same kind
of character which appears upon the Delhi and Allahabad pillars : — the
same which is found at Ellora and in many ancient caves and temples
• Orient. Mag. if. 108.
t (See Col. Ton's Coins 11, 14 ; Mr. Wilson's Plates, fit;. I, 2, 6, 7; aid
this Journal, Plate ii. figs. 17, 18.)
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Collection of Ancient CoUu. $19
of central India, and is held in abhorrence by the Brahman*/ as belong-
ing to the Buddhist religion*.
I need not repeat Mr. Wilson's opinion, drawn from other grounds,
that the tope of Manikydla, in the neighbourhood of -which these coins
are found, is a Buddhist monument, but it receives much confirmation
from the discovery of this coin of the Sakyan hero Kanishka.
Having thus far endeavoured to reconcile the coin before us, and
others of the same class to the Sakyan dynasty, to which the term
Indo-Scythic very aptly applies, we may reasonably follow up the same
tram by ascribing the next series, which exhibit, on the reverse, a
Brahmani bull, accompanied by a priest in the common Indian dhoti,
as the coins of the Brahmanical dynasty which in its turn overcame
the Buddhist line. Colonel Ton includes these coins in the same class
as the last, and adduces his* reasons for referring them to Mithridates,
or his successors, of the Arsacidan dynasty, whose dominions extended
from the Indus to the Ganges, and to whom Bactria was latterly tribu-
tary. Greek legends " of the King of kings," &c. are visible on some,
and what he supposes to be Pehlevi characters on the reverse : but I
incline to think these characters of the Delhi type, and the Bactrian
Monogram should decide their locality. Mr. Wilson and Schlbobl,
both call them Indo-Scythic, and the latter, with Col. Too, names the
figure " Siva with his bull Nandif." Mr. Schlxgel thinks it curious
that such marks of the Hindu faith should appear on these Tartar coins,
hat considering the Indian origin of the Sacse, does not this rather
prove the same of their successors, instead of their Tartar descent ? It
is more curious that the fire- altar should continue on all of the series,
but the fact of its being a fire-altar at all is still matter of great un-
certainty.
* See translation of portions of the Salsette and Ellora inscriptions by Major
WiLFoan, As. Res. v. 140, which shews them all to refer by name to Sakta. Mr.
A. Stirling, As. Res. zv. 314, says of some similar inscriptions on the Udaya Girt
hill in Orissa. " The B rah mans refer the inscription with horror and disgust to the
time when the Buddhist doctrines prevailed. I cannot however divest myself of the
notion that the character has some connection with the ancient Prakrit, and I think
an explanation ia to be looked for only from some of the learned of the Jain sect."
What has become of the key to this and other ancient Sanskrit alphabets, which
Wilfoed says he fortunately discovered in the possession of an ancient sage at
Benares?
t " Ce qui me parait la circonstance la plus remarquable dans ces medailles, ce
sont ces preuves du culte brahmanique adoptl par les rois Tartares. Us regnaient
done certainement sur des provinces ouct culte 6tait etabli."— Journal Atiatiqut,
ivet. 1828.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S18 Astronomical Observations at Bmrelly. [Jun,
fig. 10. Copper coins of this device lite met with throughout Upper
Hindustan : — they constitute the third series of Colonel 9ofe*a
plate, and some in his possession nave decided Greek charac-
ters upon them. On the obverse is the same warrior ' wHfc
spear and altar. On the reverse is what he supposes to be a
priest about to sacrifice the bull ; but in the coin before as
the dhoti is so precisely the costume of the Brahmans, that it
inclines rather to look upon the animal (especially as he has
the hump) as the sacred bull of this country, denoting the
prevalence or predominance of the Brahmanical faith in (be
Indian dependencies of Mbnander or Eucratidbs* dominion.
Fig. 18. This type of coin is if any thing more common than the last :
and the inscriptions are no longer Greek ; but either of the
unknown character of the Delhi column or genuine Hindi.
The figure astride upon the elephant is always much out of
proportion, and the Raja with the altar more rudely executed.
The elephant is, like the horse, preserved in subsequent coins
of the Hindus; thus
Fig. 17 represents one of these procured by Lieut. Burnbs in his
tour. The same device is still common in Southern India. Hie
form of the Nagri characters on this and fig. 14 agrees with
those on copper grants of land 7 or 800 years old.
I do not mention Lieut. Burnbs' Muhammedan coins, as itis better
to keep them distinct from the present engraved series, to which I
may have soon to add a valuable supplement, containing a selection
from Dr. Swinby's and General Ventura's discoveries. My task in-
creases upon me daily, but I shall be amply rewarded if my hamble
notice of the discoveries of others shall, by connecting them with an-
cient history, eventually turn these most interesting reliques to the
true end of numismatic study.
VI. — Astronomical Observations at Barelly. BgH. S. Boulderson,£aj.
The 4th No. of the Journal of Science for Oct. 1832 contains obser-
vations of the transit of Mercury in May last made at Hull, Lot 53*
45' 57" N. Long. 1' 21" W. As the longitude of the place of
observation at Hull is probably very correct, this gives the means of
gaining to some degree of certainty the longitude of the few places in
India where the transit was observed. There jts a considerable uncer-
tainty in the place of Mercury at the transit. At least the times of
conjunction in AR. gained from the elements given in the Naut Aim.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Journal AsSoc. VolBRXl
BACTRlfAN C©ifW5,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
1$33.] Attrotwmkal Qbservati*** at Barelly. 319
and those in the Berlin Ephemeris differ considerably. With a view
only to finding difference of longitude between places where the transit
was observed — this is of no great consequence. The difference of de-
clination of the Sun and Mercury at 0' in AR appears to be about 92"
.174, and this has been assumed* as also the following quantities :
Mercury's Eq. Hor. Parallax, 15".362 Sun's Of 8".5
Semidiameter, 5.75 ,, 15 52.35
Mercury's Hor. Mot. in AR. 118.7in deem. V 8".4
Sun's ditto + 224.5 Sun's + 42.7
The Semr. of Mercury obtained from the elements in the N. A. is 5".8
In the Berlin Ephemeris it is given 5".37. The quantity 5".75 has
been taken as the result of the measurement of the planet's diameter
at Geneva, contained in the 3rd No. of the above Journal.
May. h. m. •.
The internal ingress of $ observed at Hull, mean time, 4th, 21 2 21
Add time from conjunction in AR . . 2 21 9*44
Mean time of 6 in AR at Hull 4th, 23 23 30.44
The internal ingress observed at Barelly 5th, 2 20 58
Add time from conjunction in AR 2 21 34.22
Mean time of <J in AR at Barelly 5th, 4 42 32.22
The internal ingress observed at Chupra 5th, 2 42 18
Add time from 6 in AR 2 21 39.286
Mean time of d in AR at Chupra 5th, 5 8 57.286
The external ingress observed in Calcutta 5th, 2 53 24.2
Add time from 6 in AR 2 24 58.38
Mean time of d at Calcutta 5 18 22.58
Deducting 1 m. 21 sec. the longitude of Hull from the respective
differences, the following longitudes from Greenwich result :
h. m. s.
Barelly.. 5 17 40.78
Chupra... 5 39 5.85
Calcutta. 5 53 31.14 (Surveyor General's Office).
The observations at the ingress at Geneva are stated to have been
rather uncertain. The internal ingress gives a wide discrepancy, the
external ingress gives for the mean time of d in AR May 4th, 23 h
49 » 22 * *62 — a difference of longitude from Hull 25 m 5^ 25 m
52 • -18, or from Greenwich 24 m 31 ■ -18. The longitude of the ob-
servatory at Geneva (Gautier's) is given 24 m 35 •
Digiti
zed by G00gle
320
Astronomical Observation* at Barelly.
[Jroi,
The longitude of Barelly from the mean of 8 occultations of stan
in Oct. and Nov. last is 5 *• 17 m - 40 fc 56 E. of Greenwich.
By the mean of the 2 largest stars* Sagitarii and y Capricorn it b 5*
17 m 39 f 68.
The following emersions of Jupiter's first Satellite were obserred
at Barelly in 1832.
Mean time,
h. m. t.
October 19th, 7 52 7
26th, 9 47 48.9
Nov.. . 4th. 6 12 48
11th. 8 8 15.7
Dec. . . 4th, 8 24 54
Difference front
fa. m. s.
5 17 39
17 40.9
18
17 24.7
17 14
5
5
5
5
>
m. ».
17 35.7
^8
Difference
h. m. s.
The mean of the observations in Calcuttah. m.
« (excluding the last) on the 19th Oct.
do 1832, gives the emersion 8 28
The mean of the three first on the 26th
Oct. gives the mean time of emer- '
sion of 1st Satellite 10 23 27
The observation on the 4th Nov. 6 48 38
The mean of the four observations on
the 11th Nov. gives the emersion
of 1st Satellite 8 44 5.5
The difference of longitude deduced from Mercury's
transit is
The mean times of the observations of occultations of stars made at
Barelly are,
October 2nd, No. 2276
7th, No. 2814
28th, No. 2097
29th, s
Nov. 1st, TCapric.
Nov. 3rd, No. 2773
„ No. 2778
3.5 35 56.5
35 38.1
35 50
35 49.8
35 50.36
h. m. s.
Im.
10 21 23.9
Im.
9 1 15
Im.
6 18 44.5
Im.
5 29 47
Im.
8 28 44.7
Im.
8 37 16
Im.
10 8 37.3
Emer. 10 40 12.4
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Sulphate of Iron from the Hills of Behar. 921
VII. — Notice of a Native Sulphate of Alumina from the Aluminous Rocks
of Nipdi. By J. Stevenson, Esq. Superintendent H. C. Saltpetre Foe-
tories in Bchar.
• This mineral was purchased by myself from a Nipal merchant. It is
called by the natives of Tirhut, Sulajit (rock sweat), and is used
by the native doctors of this country to cure green wounds, or bruises.
It is sold at the rate of two rupees weight for a rupee.
Description.
In small light lumps, colour brownish white— externally anhydrous
—internally semi-crystalline — fracture slightly fibrous, with a lustre
resembling asbestus — porous — containing small cavities, lined with
scarcely perceptible needle-like crystals — adheres a little to the tongue.
Taste acidulous saline — soluble in twice its weight of distilled water.
Specific gravity not ascertained, but probably not quite double the
weight of distilled water. Friable.
Examination by Tests.
Turmeric paper, No change.
Litmus do .* . . Changed the blue to pink.
Muriate of Barytes, Copious precipitate of Sulphate of Barytes.
Nitrate of Silver, No change.
Oxalate of Ammonia, . . . . , Do. do.
Prossi&te of Potass, Precipitate of Prussian-blue, but not copious.
Solution of Sub-carbonate of Potass, Copious Precipitate of Alumina.
A careful analysis of this mineral produced the following result :
Sulphate of Alumina, 95.0
Peroxide of Iron, 3.0
Insoluble matter (silex), 1.0
Loss, 1.0
100.0
VIII.— Notice of a Native Sulphate of Iron from the Hills of Behar,
and used by Native Dyers of Patna. By Ditto.
Description.
In lumps— colour, externally, light yellow — internally, light grey, —
with a tinge of blue fracture, earthy and rough granular — porous,
slightly glistening, anhydrous— easily frangible, soft — not ponderous
—adheres slightly to the tongue — taste a little acid, leaving a sensa-
tion of sweetness. Very friable —specific gravity not ascertained, but
probably about 1,800.
T T
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$22 Analysis of the Ashes of Indian Plants. [Jons.
Examination by Tests.
Litmus Paper, { ^t^rown* **" * ydl0Wi8h nA$ lfte^Wi^d,
Turmeric do No change.
Muriate of Barytes, Copious precipitate of Sulphate of Barytes.
Nitrate of Silver No change.
Oxalic Acid, A slight cloudiness.
Prussiate of Potass, Copious precipitate of Prussian-blue.
_ . . _ . f Copious precipitate of Magnesia, tinged with
Liquid Ammonia | ^ £ Iro £ "»
A careful analysis of this mineral produced the following result :
Sulphate of Iron, 39.0
Peroxide of Iron, 36.0
Magnesia, 23.0
Loss, . ,, 2,0
100.0
Note. — The above two mineral substances are the natural productions of Bebar
and Nipal. They might be used largely in the arts, especially in the maniuactnrt
of Prussian-blue, Calico printing, and Dyeing ; I am not aware that they have
been noticed by European Chemists. If they have, the notice has escaped my read-
ing. I am informed that they may be had in large quantities, the Sulphate of Iroa
in particular. The specimen which I operated upon was purchased from Pitas
Bazar, where depots of this mineral are established.
IX. — Notice of Analysis of the Ashes of four Indian Plants. By Ditto.
The plants were subjected to calcination, similar to the method used
to make kelp in Scotland, and the quantity of alkali ascertained by
Brande's process. 100 parts contained as follows :
Names of
Alkali
Plants.
per cent.
Spent I
Indigo -
7.0
plant,
Poppy or
Opium
7.
plant,
Tobacco
3.0
plant,
Gada Pur- >
nah plant*. 5
10.0
Muriate of
Potass
per cent.
Sulphate of
Potass
per cent.
Insoluble
matter
per cent.
Remarks, &c.
3.0
15.0
75 .0
("In the ncigh-
< bourhood of
I Singhea.
22 .0
20.0
51.0
From Tirbfit.
9.8
11.0
76.0
Ditto.
7 .0
11.0
72.0
J Abundant in
Tirhfit.
• The latter plant, called by the Natives of Tirhut Gada Puma, is much used
by the DhobU or native washermen. They collect and subject it to the opera-
tion of burning, using the ashes instead of soap. I am not acquainted with the
botanical name of this plant, having never seen it in flower. It is almost unne-
cessary to add, that the alkali from the above plants is sub-carbonate of potass,
Sinyhea, in TirhUt, 2nd May, 1833.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Asiatic Society. 828
X. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, 26th June, 1833.
The Hon*ble Sir Edward Ryan, President, in the Chair.
The proceedings of the last meeting were read.
Mr. C. £. Trevelyan and Mr. £. J. Ravenshaw, proposed at the last
meeting, were elected Members of the Society.
* The Secretary submitted the following Report of the Committee appoint,
ed on the 27th March, for determining the best mode of continuing the
publication of the Asiatic Researches.
Report of a Special Committee appointed on the 27th March, 1833, to consider the
best mode of publishing the future volumes of the Asiatic Researches.
The statement which Baboo Ram Comul Sen, the native Secretary, submitted
to the Society, at the Meeting of the 27th March, 1833, and which led to our ap-
pointment as a Special Committee, was calculated to discourage the printing of the
Society's Researches altogether, by shewing that they had been unsuccessful in a
pecuniary point of view, and had absorbed in the course of many years a large por-
tion of the Society's funds. To this argument we cannot on the fullest considera-
tion give our assent. The reputation of the Society, its character, nay indeed its
very existence depends upon the publication of its Researches, and this is the chief
object of the contributions of its members. Neither can we coincide with the
Baboo in recommending, that the Transactions, if printed at all, should be printed
in England. The ex pence will now be nearly the same in both countries ; but the
convenience of reference to authors, and of supplying matter for the current volume ;
and of arranging the papers while in the press, are fully sufficient motives forgiving
a preference to printing in India : and the pride of a national and independent ex-
istence should still further determine us to this course ; the moment we transfer
the printing of our Researches to England, we commit an act of felo de se, and
merge at once into the subordinate character of a branch of the London Asiatic
Society, as has been the fate of the Literary Societies of the two sister presi-
dencies.
With regard to our present means of maintaining the publication of our Re-
searches, we may state, that the present income of the Society is Sa. Rs. 400 per
mensem : out of which at least 100 rupees may be set apart to cover printing ex-
pences, and this in the three years usually devoted te each volume will be ample
for plates as well as letter-press. But as every measure of economy is called for,
under existing circumstances, we strongly recommend that the octavo form be
substituted for the quarto volume.
It will be remembered, that an octavo edition of the first twelve volumes has al-
ready been published in England, and this has probably found a more extensive
circulation among the public than the badly printed volumes of the Calcutta edi-
tion. The new series therefore will fall in very well with the English edition, and
be the cause of an increased sale. It is possible that some English Bookseller may
undertake to reprint the intermediate volumes, 13 to 18, in octavo, to complete the
series.
We concur in opinion, that the Medical Society should be called upon to contri-
bute to our funds, for the use of that portion of our apartments permanently occu-
pied by their Library, &c. and we recommend that an application be addressed to
them to that effect.
It has been suggested by one of our Members that we should make the Museum
a source of income, by charging for the admission of strangers to inspect it : but
the majority of us deprecate the principle of such a charge, as tending to close the
doors of knowledge to many who may be least able, though most willing, to seek
it in our Library and Museum.
We are inclined however to approve of the suggestion of another Member, that
a composition for the quarterly subscriptions should be allowed. The amount of
composition at the Royal Society is fixed at 50 guineas, or ten years' subscription*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
32* Asiatic Society. [JtrNft,
With reference to the more limited scale of the Asiatic Society, and the higher
ratio of its subscriptions, we think that Rupees 500 or 32 goldmohurs, which
would be seven years' subscription, including the admission fee, might be adopted
as the amount of composition for new Members ; with a proportionate scale of
rates for those who are already Members, should they desire to compound for their
future subscriptions.
June 19, 1833. (Signed) John Tttlir,
R. Benson,
J. R. Colvin.
Resolved, 1. That the Committee's recommendation with regard to the
octavo Edition be adopted.
2. That the Secretary communicate with the Medical Society respect in g
the proposed contribution to our funds.
3. That the Society approve generally of the suggestion for the optional
composition of the quarterly subscriptions, and that Dr. J. Tytler, Baboo
Ram Comul Sen, and the Secretary be requested to draw up a table of the
scale of payments, founded on the value of life and period of residence in
India, as shewn by the Societies' subscription list.
The substance of a report from the Committee, on the boring experiment,
was also communicated ; but, as it had not received the signatures of all the
Members, the discussion of the subject was adjourned till the next meet-
ing.
Library.
The following hooks were presented :
Transactions of the Society of Arts, &c. vol. xliv. pt. I. By the Society,
Archssologia, vol. xxiv. By the Antiquarian Society of London.
Read a letter from the Rev. W. Yates, to the President, presenting his
metrical translation, in manuscript, of the Nalodaya, or History of King
Nala, a 8anskrit Poem; with a copious analysis, and remarks on the
various kinds of Sanskrit alliteration.
Resolved, that the work be made over to the Calcutta Committee of the
Oriental Translating Fund.
Museum.
Read correspondence with W. H. Macnaohten, Esq. Chief Secretary to
Government, respecting the transfer of the large statue of Gautama, de-
posited with the Society in 1825, to the Burmese Envoys; the Government
agree to defray the expence incurred by the Society in setting the statue
upon its pedestal.
A spotted Deer, and an Elk, with a pair of his horns, were presented by
John Belli, Esq.
A further specimen of fossil bone, and a mass of the fossil shell conglo-
merate of Jabalpur, were presented by Dr. Spiubbuby.
Antiquities.
Read a further note on one of Lieut Burxes' coins, by the Secretary.
Also a notice on the origin of the Sakya sects, by M. A. Csoma de Kobos.
Digitized by
Google
1833.]
Miscellaneous.
325
S t | o Stgijr 2
a u £■£< = s^r bos £
4 > = JS 2 bo* £^
,2 «R • t£ *j = »- » ? i> -
3 — 2G b^ffl * B
g
D
4
s
— ~ b£ ■ 5 ca « | „ x
§
S
.3
ft
si
II
Si*
(5*1 i * * f
*j be J, fee '
B c Sir 3 j£
s s * r "
SP 3 5 *. i
3
1 — }
*5
il
5
* -
*>:"
B o
III* ill
|e2 si's 1
J^* Q * s ? *j»a
as'
i -
•w
3XS
^94
|||
111
p
P «
fee - to » N «
r J*
all J
a.S -" Si
o " o v -*. B
V! C O
1.2-
I" ft*
Eh ^
T 3 t* o
£ 3 £
4 W *M
e P i-
^ Si i
to _
5 si
5 8 I
V
"in
■ *-.
IS
a
!
Z r Z
"SSl
to a; _r.J,
U o aj l.
is 3 i
III!
i 8il
Sis *
i-SS 5f
"is*
^ s
5 = J <
£ 5 s
to O to
- - fas
a if 2j
to a
-a
fet
U
•* « a
8. *
i3
III
= 3 »!
X 5 feo§
411
■ £ ■ 6
Or"* © °
> 3
■nil
E I
J^^
3rS « Sv JS-3
e « ») f- .
"T _ 3— 3
to to S
"2,1"
v - -=
■- . -
* S""
~ - r- y.
S ? ©
(ft N
S3 Aj
sfc a 90 !!
ill
5
§
s
J
I
I
Digiti
zed by G00gle
326
Miscellaneous.
[Jrai,
i
6
c
on
•*1
i 2 t
33^ «
hi"!
re . ■* I
c si c «
, £ « ■>'« _
i Sloe
: S.S « *3
: « o ff J.«
= c
c^-d
* « 5
tt"2
O 45 ^
» a
cr3 -r ^>**
« *■ s • a tTie —
» ^ S o
*f ft * J- ^
co — *
— - /,
£3
S- 3
4 i
r 5-:
88
f
3>
"1-flfi
4il
= 3
Ja = S
j ■ -
s a
at
a
CO
_4 _"C 8 -— o>^
*j
c si
I 5
! 1
Between Socotra, I
and the Arabian
Coast, current
sets to the north-
ward and east-
ward.
i. 3 1 m a
p bf^ts = a
« s - «s =
e £ ©
© " c _-s
-
p
i
•—
1|
pa £
S g
£ BOD
CQ j -^
c g
ill
* a,' -2
« a a> o^2
-
-
z
c
E
-
>
D
U
-
c
E*a a
* 4. »
1*1
— «
^^"^zz^ a
Ifl^
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
MiscellaneovB.
8^7
imut m
&
rSS§
!s«i ■
* SO t»M
&*-* a *
•c-3 « H
^ O fc ,*J3
'O o 3 a w
* *1^ 9
1 1 a. & a §
v
I
V
I
.5 «J=^
SSb
(S.i^
d *3 a s^
J
is*
4 A !
*8i
<r
•" I'S s\
3 s-i« 5^
12
Jo
•c s
- - - ;
1 5 6
•O Ik •
c-c o >,
'>— q a
* « i 2
•€ « <- Q
S S £5
- 4) p
■2 £ w
•5— --o •$
i i g a m
*■ i "■
3 **•£?
8 Sb= § >
5 -=:'■= *• a*
^~ * ft
C5 §
> g
* ^ 4) 1- 4» £\9
J i 3 a sj? £
is.
.a 3
2 ?-
' ei S « S ° c-
1 i£
2 g . S ' v u *j
■i.
""^ »•/«
--i
A*
i mil*
A^ CD
u a « g «
err » .53-^
s"g M a. a
j
a.
c2
I
O
Digiti
zed by G00gle
328
Meteorological Register.
[June, 1883.
i
70
-
3
6
f
I
•SU|U3A3
*aooN
•Suuuojv
•ailUMAJI
*9aftuoft
,: =• 5 a! u •-- &
E F a5
3 JlJ
■o ^©S cl t o o oooo 0-30 i I cocggoSooooo
u
u ,_ _ -
I g« s b^i §* § i Bfii IP'S silJSi iifiS
xxxxrf© . .xx^^xx • rfxxx * »Wo d . ox^x
* x a x x OT "
tf«a**?tf«rfarfJa5s«x$J,4:d6i5|.^*dxxy
W * ■/ x x * * j « c x x x x x d « * 6 J «8 » W 6 6 6 c rf I /
H5
§ 2 SS 2
O S OS ©
Bg8388S8&888888&88*8&M8S3JNMni
£1
ill
5 s
eg
J] I
" £:-
§ 1*
■c s
c 5
.11
III
**|
g838S»88888&888g&88&8St388888&88
VJ1
"1
- *• S
»^
•km guy ^sj^iigaj5tfS&«5S8*28&&MSasSS5S8
3 11
•vonv
<fON»*. -»x wor>.-r «r-»-rr^c«
-*. r>-
&&B838S&8£SSg555aSgSSSg5S5SgaS I 5 »1
uinuiiutiv
£el
IB
#a
K'VOt JV
'ft6tlSn«|l||||M3$39lf 91S3|^
"*Tf F JV
•tpnoiu
3Hl jo Aoq
llS>:ts>;t-ISIip§SiPM3p533?M
-e.B»«<eN.Boio- 2 222SD:22ge;?)S5SSSS88
= 111
2**1
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JOURNAL
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. W.—July, 1833.
L— THE BIRTH OF UMX— A LEGEND OF HIMALAYA,
By Calidasa, ><)'
(being the first Canto of his great poem the Cumara-sambhav a).
The Sanscrit text translated into corresponding English measure, with notes and illustrations.
ARGUMENT.
Nature and site of Himalaya, (1.) His pre-eminence among mountains,
how shown, (2.) Not disparaged by frost, (3.) Description of his sublime
appearance and various wonders, (4 — 16.) His designation as King
of Mountains by Brahma, (17.) His marriage with the nymph Men a,
(18.) Birth and description of their first-born son, the mountain Mai-
na'ca, (19, 20.) New birth, from the samfpair, of Sati, once daughter
o/Daxa and wife of Siva, (21, 22, 23.) Appearance and growth of the
beautiful daughter thus born anew, (24, 25.) Her designation as Parvati
and as Uma, (26.) Prized above all things by her father Himalaya,
(27, 28.) Her childhood and education, (29, 30.) Her more mature youth,
(31, 32.) Description of her person, (33 — 50.) Her destiny as future
wife, the second time, ofSivx, made known to her father, (51, 52, 53.)
Siva, after long mourning for Sati, comes to Himalaya to perform aus-
terities, (54, 55.) His troop of attendant Gods described, (56,) and his Bull,
(57.) Siva then commencing his austerities,' (58,) is worshipped by Hima-
laya, (59,) and at his command by his daughter Pa'rvati ; whose influence
m Siva, together with Siva's influence on her, are described, (60, 61.)
u u
Digiti
zed by G00gle
330 The Birth of Umd— [July,
The lines marked • thus in the first five stanzas are those which exactly repre-
sent in structure the pddas or quarters of stanzas in the original — consisting of an
Iambus or Spondee, a Bacchius, an Anapaest and Bacchius ; thus,
Tbii hendecasyllable measure, called by the Hindus Tf^l or Indra*$ thunderbolt,
(probably, because in one of the Brahmanas of the Sama Wda, Indra is said to bare
aimed his thunder at the demon Vritra by means of Sanscrit metres!) extends
through the whole of this canto, with the exception of the last stanza, the 61st :
and is next to the Anuttup or ordinary loose Iambic, the most frequently
used, beside being one of the most harmonious, measures of Sanscrit poetry. In its
application to the less measured structure of English syllables, its rhythmical effect
is perhaps better represented by the following musical notation, than by any terms
of prosody : (the semiquavers denoting the rapid or short syllables, and the quaver
and all beyond, without distinction, denoting the long :)
IS/IOT N//IJXJI J:
" Asty - ut-ta-raa • yam di-d dft-va-tit - mi.
a notation which may also serve to shew the reason why the rigorously exact
imitation of this, as of other measures belonging to classical ancient languages, is
not accordant with the genius of our English metrical composition. The Teutonic
ear, content with the regularly recurring accent in every third syllable, and insen •
•ibly attaching the idea of equality of time to this recurrence, as in the musical bars
above written, does not acknowledge any law that should thus perpetually and
invariably distinguish the middle bar, by a dactylic subdivision, from the amphi-
macer of the bars preceding and following it : but allows, and even requires, for va-
riety's sake, the mutual interchange of these different modes of subdivision, in the
several repeated periods of the same rhythm. Such is the case with more or less va-
riation in all the lines not marked with a star in the first four stanzas : and the
plentiful intermixture of such lines is therefore more a matter of taste, to avoid what
would be in English an intolerable uniformity, than a sacrifice to the mere ease of
versification.
It is far different with the ancient languages of Greece and Rome ; which in the
regulation of metre by quantity exclusively of accent exactly resemble the Sanscrit.
In all these, the conception of time being adjusted rigorously to that standard of
quantity, which counts two short syllables (or M&tr&s in Sanscrit) equivalent to one
long, the substitution in any lyric measure of dactyl for amphimacer, or anapaest for
bacchius, is known to be impossible. Adopting therefore their standard, the most
perfect conception may be attained by a classical scholar of our present Indian
measure, by joining an Alcaic commencement to a Sapphic termination. That
if in the first of the Alcaic odes of Horace, we transpose or slightly interpolate the
ends of its two first lines, the middle of its third, and the beginning of its fourth,
thus — we make the complete Indra-vajra stanza.
Vides ut alta nive candidum stet
Soracte, nee euttineant onus Jam
Silvae labore exanimet, geluque
En, flumina ut constiterint acuto.
Or if we take the 22nd ode, which is in the Sapphic measure, a yet slighter alte-
ration will suffice to give each line the Alcaic commencement necessary to make the
same Indian metre ; thus.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1633.3 A Legend of Hhndlaya—by Cdliddsa. 881
1.
* In regions far North, dad in deiforra might,
The Mountain King rises, Him/lata. hight :
* Whose giant form, stretching along in one sweep
* From th' Eastern main forth to the Westernmost deep,
Might seem, as it join'd them, the measuring rod
* Laid o'er the broad earth by its architect God.
Vttrn integer qui, scelerisque puma,
Non tile Maori jaculis neque arcu,
Nec/Mfe tmetie gravidA sagittis,
Mi Fusee, eecurue eget pharetri.
Though this particular species of double dochmiac measure does not itself occur
in Horace or in Pindar, it may be found sometimes in the choral strains of the Greek
tragic poets — but in insulated lines only. Thus in the Ferse of iEschylus, the 5th
strophe and antistropheof the last choral song of lamentation contain the following
regular bedra-vajra lines.
Stroph. Tf «* ©ftc j &\*\*v fuyiXws r« Utpcav [t. 999.]
Antistr. Tpmrirra vafappwerov IpHts fyiiAor [v. 1009.]
(each being followed by two lines in the kindred Indian measure called ^fattgfar)
The following commencement of a similar strain in the Antigone of Sophocles,
(uttered by the unfortunate heroine herself,) is in the same measure :
Stroph. Oporc /&'« 701 war pi as woXh-tu [v. 817.]
Antistr. "Hjcowrct W> Xvypordray 6\4<r$at [7. 834.]
(in which we may also observe, no less than in the Alcaic, another peculiarity of our
Indian measure, the eo mmonn ett of the first syllable) .
So is the commencement of a similar strain in w. 431 and 439 of the Medea of
Euripides, (p. 39, ed. Porson) — and the concluding line of another in w. 763,771 of
the Supplices of Afechylus, (p. 35,36, ed. Sckolfield) — and others which it were
needless to transcribe.
8t. 1. the meaewring rod
Laid o'er the broad earth by ite architect God.
The words " by ite architect God" are an addition to the expressions of the ori-
ginal, but not to the sense, even according to Hindu ideas : the earth's " measuring
rod*' presupposing a builder, vi*. the creator Brahma. When we consider the
Himalaya, in the Words of the Baron de St. Croix, as a part of one " great chain of
mountains which rising on the sides of Lycia, Pamphylia, and Cilicia, stretch across
Asia from West to East, and after receiving the different names of Taurus, Paropa-
misus, Imaus, and Emodus, terminate at the sea that washes China," and thus join,
as our poet declares, both oceans,— the comparison of the vast progressive range to
such a rod, will scarcely be thought an unhappy one. But bating this, which is pecu-
liar to our Indian author, — the image of an artificer, and even of an instrument of
measurement, is not thought unworthy to represent the Supreme Being, and his
absolute control of the most stupendous objects of the visible creation, in the pure
theology of our inspired Scriptures. See Isaiah xi. 12, 15, dec. but I would parti-
cularly refer to two r em a rkab le instances in the book of Job (xxviii. 25, and xxxviii.
3, 4) : in the former of which the Hebrew- Arabic word mo (S&t) applied to the
u u 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
332 The Birth of Umd — P*«i
2.
Him once the gay hiUa, so they tell, all agreed
* To make the prime Calf of their glorious high breed ;
And Mb'ru himself, skilTd in milking of yore,
Stood milker for all of the genial Earth's store :
measurement ofthe great waters, exactly answers in meaning to our Sanscrit urW
—as its derivative too ( J&*) in the latter, which I now quote, might both from
its form and its parallelism with the cord in the 4th line, be almost conceived to be
synonymous with our Hi«i^#s (the word not occurring elsewhere in Scripture.}
VTN — no*} rrn rtD*H Where wast thou, when I laid the foundations of the earth ?
ran nrr dk "in Tell, if thou art acquainted with knowledge.
*TT» *3 nmoo OD — *D Who disposed the dimensions (or dimensors ?) of it if thou
k no west ?
lp rrV rnD3— na TH Or who stretched over it the measuring line ?
St. 2. Him once the gay hills, $r.— The truly Indian legend of this verse is con-
tained with somewhat more particularity in the 6th chapter of the Hari-Vansa, the
last book of Vyasa's sacred epic, the Mahdbharata.
WW **nf TT9TW 3T^n|T TRPW I
And also in the 18th chapter of the 4th book or Skandha of a more recent my-
thological authority, the Bhagavat Purana.
farcin f m n tm ^r^TW5X^rwrj5 n r» ii
But the legend which has given to both these chapters of the Hari-Vansa and the
Bhagavat respectively the title of Prithvi-dSha, or " the milking of the earth," is
not confined to the subject of these lines, i.e. to the Mountains and their chosen Calf
Himalaya. The injunction of Prithu to his obedient wife (or as some authorities
have it, his daughter) Prithvi, i. e. the Earth, extends to the suckling of all orders
of the creation, from the ultra deified saints or Rishis down to the trees of the
forest : each of which, according to the high authority first quoted, were deaiross
of the favour, and had its own Calf, its milker, and its appropriate milk or nutri-
ment, drawn by him from the udder of Mother Earth in an appropriate pail
The fable is sufficiently curious and illustrative of Indian mythology in general, to
be stated at greater length.
The Rishis chose for their prime calf, Soma, regent of the moon : and tke
sage Vrihajpati, son of Angiras, acting as milker for the rest, drew the pure
milk of austere and spiritual science from the earth's breast into a pail composed
of the metrical Vedas. — The celestial Gods chose Indra for their calf : and their
milker Surra, or the Sun, milked the earth of strength in a pail of gold.— The
Pitris or Oii Manes having chosen Yama (the Indian Pluto), for their calf,
their milker, Fatal Time, drew from the earth's bowels the sacred food afered
to deceased ancestors, into a pail of silver.— The Nagas or serpentine deities of the
Digitized by
Google
1833.] A Legend 6/ Himalaya— by Validasa. 3<Kfc
Who, heeding their wish, at great Prithu's behest
* Gave freely, cow-like, of her swelling dark breast :
* And sparkling bright gems, with all healing herbs' power,
Gush'd out for this dear mountain-babe to devour.
realms below, having chosen Taxaka as their calf, and Dhritarastra as their milker,
milked the earth of its poisons in a gourd pail.— The Asuras or malignant deities,
choosing Virochana, son of Prahlada, as their calf, and Madbu for their milker,
milked the earth of illusion in a pail of iron.— The Yaxa demons, choosing
Cnvera (the Indian Plutus or Mammon) for their calf, (the milker not named,)
milked the earth of dissimulation in an earthen pail.— The several descrip-
tions of fiends and vampires, the Raxasas, Pisachas, Bbutas, &c. all choosing
Somali for their calf, and Rajatanabha, (the silver-naveled goblin,) for their
milker, drew blood from the teats of the earth, into a dead man's scull used
for a pail.— The Gandharvas and Apsaras, the songsters and dancers of Para-
dise, choosing Chitraratha for their calf, and Vasaruchi for their milker
drew perfumes from the earth's bosom into a lotus pail.— The mountains'
having chosen, as we have seen, Himalaya as their calf, and Mera for thei*
milker, milked the earth of jewels and rich herbs in a pail of stone.— Lastly, the
trees, having chosen the Plaxa or holy fig-tree for their calf, and the Sal' tree
for their milker, drew buds from the earths bosom in a leafy pail.— So far the
Mahabharata: with which the Bhagavat disagrees in several minor particulars •
both of these grave authorities, however, agreeing with each other, as I am happy
to observe, in fully confirming the statement of our poet in this verse respectinir
his mountain King. ^
The Scholiast Nilakantha on the Mahabharata makes the principal herb
of which the Earth was milked for Himalaya, to be the ^rfw^TOt or
luminous plant, whether fabulously so called or otherwise, of which we shall have
occasion to speak more particularly on the 10th stanza. But the commentators on
Calidasa, both Mallinatha and Bharata-mallica ; assign that place to the fabled
8anjtwan4 whose juice can revive the dead : the latter adding also the herb Vi~
safya-karmi, to which the same revivifying property is ascribed in theLanka-kandu
or 6th book of the Ramayana of Valmiki. The idea of medicinal herbs is there-
fore made the most prominent in my translation : though it should be added that
both the above-mentioned Scholiasts apply the epithet %Tnsrf*f! here, viz.
" sparkling" or " luminous," to the " herbs," as well as to the " gems."
The all-sustaining virtues of Mother Earth could not possibly be conveyed to a
Hindu under a more dignified image than that of a cow and her dependent calves.
We see the same image curiously applied to the highest mysteries of the Vedantic'
philosophy, in the following distich of the Panchadasi or Quindecad of Vidyaranya
*rowr*m *riu3*ii^iT «fr*'*trfMT I
i. e. " Of the cow of desire, called M/va (the Great Illusive Mother of Nature, of
whom Sati and Parvati are but incarnations), there are two calves,— the separate
Soul, and God. Both drink abundantly as they list : (the former drinks) duality
(or diversity), which is its essence ; (the latter,) simple unity."
Compare the cow Nandini in the Raghu Varna of our author, II. 63—66, Ac. fto.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
334 The Birth of Umd— [Jolt,
3.
While gems thus unnumber'd of bountiful Earth
Encompass this favourite child from his birth,
* Ev'n hoary dull frost, on his lofty brow seen,
Takes nought from his bliss or his glory, I ween :
* One fault may well merge in a flood of such praise,
* Unmark'd, as one spot in the gentle Moon's rays.
4.
For borne on his craigs, lo what rivals the grace
* Of fairy light steps that ethereal nymphs trace,
* The glitt'ring bright rock, all in broken streaks seen
As belts of the shifting cloud gather between ;
* And evermore wearing, from morn to still night,
The rich blended hues of the ev'ning twilight.
8t. 3. Ev'n hoary dull frost, $■©.— This idea of frost, as a mere blemish in the
otherwise surpassing glory of the mountain, is characteristic of Hindu sentiment.
Thus in a curious dialogue called Vuhva-gunAdareana, written by an ingenious
poet of the Deccan, named Venkatichari, describing the travels of two Gandharvas
or celestial songsters over the world, one of whom praises, the other censures, every
thing,— the praise of Badarika, the holy retreat of the sage Vyasa on Himalaya, by
the one, is reckoned to be sufficiently censured by the other urging the froet,
which he declares sufficient to prevent, if not destroy the merit of every pious
exercise performed there.
fritonni irw*rw ^**n I | ir nmyw unfi t wm firfof t
Ibid. Am one tpot in the gentle moon*e rayt.— X^t fai fl fi q qi^ : The propriety
of this expression is disputed by some Pandits, on the ground of the spot belonging
not to the ray* but to the body of the moon. Of this the reader may judge accord-
ing to his taste.
St. 4. The glUt* ring bright rock.— The word j fTTpntl or mineral, which I
have translated rock, is explained by Bharata-mallica to mean here simply rfC*
or red chalk— by Mallinatha, a little more generally forprw : fa ^fjrft^l I ^S t
TO ^MH tflTTiTr^), bu t still restricting the mineral or rocky strata hers
described to those of a red colour. Whence arises this determination of the Pan-
dit commentators to give this special import to a word of general signification,—
when the most various colouring which the word admits would both accord better
with the actual appearance of the mountain, and add more grace to the author's
description, — it is not easy to point out. I should be disposed to ascribe it to the
comparison of evening twilight in this stanza, and the scholiasts' passion for
systematizing the loci commune* of poetry, evinced in making the evening hue
exclusively red : — did I not observe the same limited interpretation elsewhere,
as in v. 104 of the MSgha Duta of our poet— where their interpretation of
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833 >] A Legend of Himalaya — by Cdliddsa. 335
5.
* His fow'ring peaks, glowing with nearer sun's heat,
Are climb'd by the holiest devotees' feet ;
Who worshipping first the huge shades, downward thrown
From clouds thickly circling the high mountain- zone,
Thence higher advancing, are chilTd in its rain
Of drenching white mist, ere the summit they gain.
6.
His snows soon effacing the marks, gory red,
Where lions, fierce slayers of elephants, tread ; —
*HfK I J l h or colours of the mountain rock, to be merely red, (notwithstanding the
plural) is suspected by Mr. Wilson to be owing to the possible predominance of
ammonite or copper ore in some of the strata of the Himalaya. I cannot however
persuade myself that either in the present passage, or in that of the Cloud Messen-
ger, Cahdasa should have entertained the limited sense ascribed to him by hi» com-
mentators, — since he has himself in another part of that poem (St. 60, 61, w. 403
• — 410 of Wilson's translation) described expressly in powerful images, though still
below the truth of nature, the mingled white, blue, grey* and black, of the rocky
strata of the same stupendous mountain to which his Yaxa hero was there exiled.
The reader may, if he will, compare our ancient poet's description in these several
places with what Mr. Fraser records in his Journal of a Tour to the Himalaya
mountains (pp. 255, 317, 344, &c. &c. of the 4to. edition of 1820), respecting the
intermixture of every diversity of hue, reflected from the variously stratified peaks.
On every account, therefore, I prefer the most general meaning of the dh&twnatid
here.
Ibid, And evermore wearing, $*e. — The meaning of these two last lines is con-
veyed by Cdliddsa in as many words, Ahdla-sandhy&m iva, literally " like an even-
ing-twilight out of its time :" but the immediately understood import of the short
Sanscrit compound could scarcely be evolved intelligibly in a less compass of
English words, than in the metrical paraphrase I have given.
St. 5, 6. My Malayalim MS. transposes these two stanzas : but the order of all the
Devanagari and Bengali MSS. and commentators, seems here decidedly preferable.
St. 5. The holiest devotees— To the reports brought back by these holy pilgrims,
(falT: or perfect men, as they are here called, when they attain their object,) a large
portion of the strange matters popularly credited and described by our bard as be-
longing to this mountain, may be certainly ascribed : amongst them, the elevation
above the region of frost and snow, of summits glowing with the more ardent heat
of the approximated sun. See the note on St. 16.
St. 6. The mountaineers, ^c— Properly the Kira'tas : for the name, though
often used to denote merely a mountain woodsman and hunter, was originally the
name of a tribe or nation on the N. W. of the Indian mountains, viz. the Kirrhadm
(Kt6pa$at) of Ptolemy, or as it has been sometimes read Kirrhodeeis. In the In-
stitutes of Manu (x. 43, 44,) these are enumerated along with some tribes of an
undoubtedly Hindu origin, and others as undoubtedly foreign, (the Cambojas, the
zed by Google
&36 The Birth of Umd— [Jra,
The mountaineers, skilled in the dangerous chase,
Can still, though unseen, the destroyer's path trace ;
The frontal pearls, dropt from his claws on the way,
Point out where the monster has borne his huge prey.
Yavanas or Greeks, the Sacs or great Indo-Scythian nation, the Persians, Pv-
thians, Chinese, the Daradse, and inhabitants of Khasa-giri, or Cashgfr, the
Indian Caucasus,) who are said to hare fallen to the lowest class from their origi-
nal distinction of Xatriyas or Rajputas, by neglecting the proper religious rites of
their caste, and seeing no Brahmans.
The historical drama Mudra-Rdarasa enumerates the Kiratas together wit*
the Sacie, the Macedonian Greeks, the Cambojas, the Persians, and Bactrim*,
as having inundated from the N. W. frontier, under the conduct of Chanakyi,
Chandra-gupta's able and wily minister, the ancient capital of the Nanda kings ;
Act II. p. 41, ed. Wils. The note of the learned translator (p. 64, of the 3rd
volume of his Hindu Theatre) here well deserves to be consulted. I would
only add, with reference to two statements in it, that as the name p* F#sw or
-jj y* (looses) , which is known to have been the common appellation of the Greeks
throughout western Asia, leaves no doubt of the Yavanas here being the followers
of Alexander the Great, — so there is as little reason for ascribing a vague or oncer-
tain site to the Kiratas or Cirrhads. The most accurate of ancient geographers,
by whom alone the name in this correct form was given to the western world, has
in the l£th chapter of his 6th book, fixed with singular precision the position of
these mountaineers with respect to the other Sogdian tribes, viz. on the eastern
side of the Oxus, not far from its source in the Paropamisian mountains, near
where their range meets that of the Indian Caucasus ; and not far from where
Alexander fixed the site of the last of the cities called by his name, before
he invaded India. Thus the Kiratas are north of the Bactrian tribes, and due west
of the Sacs, in the parallel of about 37° N. agreeably to what might be inferred from
the Indian history preserved in the Mudra-Rdxasa. [The existence of a country
called Cirrhadia, east of the Delta of the Ganges, the modern kingdom of Arracaa,
might lead to some confusion : but in the position of the tribe of Cirrhadc by
Ptolemy, there is no ambiguity : and his error in making the latitude of this and
the circumjacent places too far north by about 4° is no impeachment of the accuracy
of his relative description, obtained from the routes of the mercantile travellers of his
day.] I will only add, that these same Kiratas seem laid down under the name o(
Ciaabji Indi along the Imaus range towards the north, in that curious monu-
ment of antiquity, the Peutingerian Map [Sect, vii., a Paralocis (q ^ljfo p 1)
ScytAU usque adjinem Atue.]
Digitized by
Google
1 833. j A Legend ef ffim&laya—by Cdliddsa. *37
7.
On him grow the birches, all rough with flak'd bark,
Which wanton wild elephants eagerly mark,
Their huge sweating fronts rubbing o'er it amain,
Till all ita peel'd folds bear the ruddy deep stain :
That bark which hereafter, in paper's smooth leaves,
From min'ral red ink the trac'd letter receives ;
lmpassion'd warm lines, haply, destin'd to bear.
By Love's god indited, to deified fair.
■ ■ ■• * —
8t.6 9 7. The frontal pearl*, fyc. ^c— The European reader hat no need
to be assured that the 4J||i|40 or pearl, supposed here, and in numberless other
Hindu writings to lie under the humbha or frontal bone of the elephant, is a
mere frontons non-entity. The confidence with which book-learned Pandits
will, however, assert its reality, is as surprising as it is characteristic : though
some few, who have learned a little regard for experiment as a guide to truth, are
cautions enough to confine its existence to the three former ages : thus making the
frontal pearl (like the horse and ox sacrifice, perfect abandonment of the world,
the presentation of flesh to deceased ancestors, and the tartrate law) , a thing too
precious for the present degenerate Kali-Yuga or iron age of the world.
The same fabulous character is by no means so apparent in the fragrant vnctv-
om red ichor mentioned in St. 7, as secreted in the elephant's forehead, and ex*
nduuj, during the rutting season. This persuasion, which not only pervades the li-
terature of the Hind 6s, but has been communicated by them to inquirers of other
nations, is however generally condemned by naturalists as a vulgar error ; the
moat diligent observers having failed to discover anything beyond common perspi-
ration. (See Encycl. Metrop. Art. Elephant : where is also stated a singular
current belief, connected with this, of some natives of Western India.) Of the
antiquity of this belief we have a singular vestige in Strabo's description of India,
(Kb. xv. vol. 6, p. 91, ed. Siebenkees) where he states that the male elephant at that
season) grows furious, and " emits a sort of fat through a pore or vent which he has
near the temples :" the opening of the same pore indicating the corresponding sea-
son of the female, [tcalpos fivrt rf /xcv ty/Wr*, 4wet8ay oXkoi mrrexirrai **1 ayptahfi.
tot* H mtd Afrrovt r) Sea rfc Aymrroip ayfiftro' ip ex«< *af>* robs Kp6rmpotfS. rait
fc ftfAciots bra* 6 abrbs w6pos ovros fanvybs ^iryxdVij.] This information was pro-
bably delivered by theBrabmans of Chandragupta's court at Pataliputra toSeleu-
ens's ambassador Megasthenes, who is Strata's great authority on Indian affairs :
for Aristotle, who wrote shortly before that communication with India* and has em-
bodied aH the information of his time, (refuting whatever bethought fabulous, )m his
numerous books on Animals, has recorded no such particular as this of the elephant.
Ibid. The ^*K Bh6rja or Mountain Birch, (Betala Bhojapatra of Wallich,) is
surrounded, like the birch tree of Europe, with a bark consisting of several layers,
capable of being peeled off in ample flakes, and liable to become rough from the con-
stant unequal peeling of its folds, though the texture of each layer or cuticle in itself
is* remarkably smooth : hence it is described in St. 57 of this canto as WJTIft or
nt to the touch, and thus a fit clothing for Siva's attendant gods. Though
z z
Digiti
zed by G00gle
949 Tk* Birtk of Umd— [July,
8.
He, filling the hollows of all his brave trees
Of rattling bamboo with a whistling wild breeze,
That sounds from the covert of every deep den,
And echoes through all, over forest and glen, — '
Might seem to be piping and leading along
Heaven's quire of musicians, commencing their song.
9.
His beauteous tall pines, when the elephants heal
By friction on them, the sharp twitching they feel
this use of clothing the immortals is as little apparent in the present day as that
of corresponding with them, the bark is still extensively employed, as it was in
CalidAsa's time, for the fabrication of a very common kind of paper among the
Hindus, as well as for the less poetical purpose of supplying what our countrymen
in India call the snake* of their hookas. A fuller description of this tree may
be seen in Dr. Wallich's very valuable work, Plants Asiatic® Rariores : to whom
I am also indebted for a sigiit of a frustum of its trunk brought by him from Nipal,
and illustrating the above statement.
The use of this birch paper in bearing erotic messages to the fair Vidyadharis
of Indra's heaven, which Calidasa thus oddly contrasts with the rough embrace of
the wanton elephants, (the two states of the bark being singularly mixed together in
the Sanscrit sentence) is curiously illustrated by the converse application, exhi-
bited by our poet himself in his beautiful drama of Vikrama and Urvasi, or the
" Hero and the Nymph :" where the celestial nymph Urvasi uses a leaf of the birch
tree to convey her passion to a mortal prince. The leaf plucked in the forest, and
hastily inscribed with a few elegant Pracrit lines, is dropped by the divine fair one
in sight of the king's confident, who bears it to his master. (Act. II, p. 33 of the
Sanscrit edition, p. 86 of Wilson's translation.)
St. 8. He filling the hollow*, ^c— The office ascribed to the sylvan and moun-
tain deity Pan in the Homeric hymn to that god, and in Ovid's Metamorphoses,
i. v. 707, of giving the first notions of music to mankind by blowing through reeds
with the winds of heaven, and even instructing the immortals in the same ait, (and
as the Orphic hymn pursues the idea, thus setting an example of the harmony of the
heavens, —
'EA0l futfrap, VKiprrrrd, xepitpopt, <rvvBpovos &pais 9
Alyofi(\4s t /Saxx«uT<£, <t>i\4rd**s, hvrp itiia.Tt,
'Apfiovirfv Kfopoto Kpixww (piKoxalyfiovt po\rrj.
i. e. as some say, by the gamut of his syrinx answering to the seven planets,) is here
ascribed to the gigantic Himalaya, with all the advantage that the far larger and
more noisy reeds of the Indian forest give to the representation. Our poet has spoken
elsewhere of the natural music of the bamboos, but in a more tranquil strain, and
with no mention of the mountain leader of the band, or of his echoing caverns, in
St. 58 of the Cloud Messenger, and in the Raghu-wm**, 2nd Canto, St. 12.
8t. 9. Mi* beauteous tall pine*, $-c— The ^T^f Sarala or Pinus longifolia, some-
times called the Cheer, which is the species of pine here mentioned, is of the most
Digitized by
Google
1833.] A Legend of Himdbya—ty Cdliddsa. 339
Athwart their big foreheads; — a liquor distil
Of milky white hue o'er each fir-covered hill :
Whose well diffos'd fragrance makes every dark height
And table-land, pregnant with od'rous delight.
10.
All night on his herbs as innocuous fires blaze,
The caves' inmost chambers are pierc'd by their rays :
Not trimm'd with oil they, — yet to spirits that rove
In forests, enamour 'd, the true lamps of love.
frequent occurrence in Sanscrit poetry. It grows in abundance, as I am assured by
my learned friend Dr. Wallicb, in Nipal, and all the mountainous regions on the
northern frontier, and contains much resinous matter, of a very fine and aromatic
kind ; which might not unreasonably be supposed to flow abundantly from any
wound or incision made in the tree : but as to the scratching elephants habi-
tually performing that agreeable office, and earths and rocks reflecting the fra-
grance thus imparted to them ; this he thinks may well be set down to the imagi-
nation of the poet, or of those whom he is here content to follow. (Of the friction
of the elephants, compare the notes on St. 6 and St. 15.)
St. 10. All night on his herb*, Sfe, — What is here meant by Calidaaa is not,
(as might be at first sight supposed) a spontaneous ignition of herbs by friction
often issuing in the conflagration of forests, — a common subject of description in
Indian poetry, though little accordant with the circumstances annexed to the fires
in this stanza. It refers to lambent fires, like those described in Lucan's mys-
terious Druidical forest near Marseilles, (Pharsalia iii. 420).
— no* ar dentil fulgere incendia silvae —
or those of Argolis in Seneca's Thyestes, Act. IV. (where though the terms are just
opposite, the meaning is precisely the same)
Tota solet
Micare flamma silva, et excels® trabes
Ardent tine igni—
or like those by which, in the special prodigy manifested in the commission
of the Hebrew legislator at Horeb, (Exod. ii.) the plant " flames, but is not
consumed." The authority given by the two commentators whom I have consulted
on t*» W poem, for enumerating this among phenomena of constant occurrence, is
simply the Agama or Tantra, the Indian Cabbala, venerated scarcely less than
the Nigama or Vedas themselves, by the votaries of Siva and of his
female energies or Sactis. The passage thus cited from the Agama (without
further particularity of reference) is given by Mallinatha as follows : ^"fj-^jw
iftv i^afT firem KftrOn 1 ^nfw '• e< " The sun when he has deposited his rays for
the night with the deciduous herbs, goes to his setting." And thence a friendly
acquaintance, endeared by occasional absences, is established between the herbs
and the rays to which they are nightly attached, of which poetical fable our
author makes a very elegant use in the 30th stanza of this book.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
MO Tke Birth of VmS^- [July,
II.
His steep defiles climbing, with petrified snows
Heap'd up, shooting aches through the strain'd heels and toes, —
The dames of Heaven's horse-headed quire, in array,
To high upper regions pursue their slow way :
Were it an ancient author of the western world who thus enumerated the care-
illuminating herbs among the wonders of Himalaya, — we should bare little hesita-
tion in referring his story to the phenomenon of the fire-fly, presenting to the eye of
an unobservant stranger the appearance of sparks inherent in the trees or shrubs
on which those insects play. But this origin can scarcely be ascribed with any
probability to the existence of such a belief among the Hindus, to whom every thing
regarding the V§TW or fire-fly is most familiar : and its mention m this manner
can only be accounted for by the disposition which characterizes them beyond all
other people, not only to admit the customary occurrence of prodigies, (as more
enlightened nations have been prone to do,) but to cease to consider (hem as such,
and to class them among the most familiar objects of their daily experience.
I should add, however, that this particular belief, founded wholly on the Tan-
Irae, U one not commonly adduced in Hindu poetry : except in these instances of
£alidasa'e present work, and one in the Sitvpdla-badha of the poet Magna,
I am not aware of its occurrence, nor do I think it has attracted the notice of any
^European scholar. The jyStitmatl or htminous plant, which as was observed in
$t. 2, is mentioned by some as pre-eminent among the herbs divinely given to Hi-
malaya, is one of the most common of Indian plants, the heart-pea (so called frost
the shape of its fruit), or haUcaeabum eardioepermum : and notwithstanding its
name in Sanscrit, together with 18 others of which several are equally splendid in
import, found in the Amara C6sha and other vocabularies, it has no properly
luminous or blazing quality ascribed to it by any of those respectable authorities.
And if we inquire concerning she most " sparkling" of Himalaya's medicinal herbs
according to the scholiast on St. 2, I mean the magic Vkalya-karanl, which was
•ought to restore life to the slain brother of Rim a himself, we find in the Lanca-
kanda, $ 80, the monkey warrior Suslna, in his minute directions given to his
chief Hanuman, (that be might recover it from the millions of Gandharvaa, Raxasas,
and others who jealously watched it,)— describing indeed its yellow leaves, green
fruit, its red and golden flowers, &c.,— but not a word of any nrffsr or ilhmtmal-
1*§ property.
IH&* To tpbritt that rove, Jfc.— The English word spirit will rather be un-
derstood of a superhuman being, than of the spirit of a man : and indeed I am
rather anxious for an interpretation which European taste requires, in order to five
dignity to a circumstance like this, when introduced in connexion with the mysteri-
ous and supernatural fires that light up the caverns of Himalaya. The truth,
however, must be told in the note, whether such management in the text be excus-
able or not : via. that the q^^CT- or " forest-rovers" here mentioned were
doubtless, in the mind of Calidasa as well as of his Indian commentators, mere men /
'• e * f*<IHH«|: the Cirrhadss and other troglodytes of these mountains.
8i.il. Heaven's horte- headed quire.— Amongst, the bitarreries of Hindu mytbokw
gy, is that of giving the heads of horses to the heavenly musicians, who are thence
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.3 A Legend if Hmatmfm^f XMiddsa. 341
With loins sorely wearied, and labouring breasts,
The zealous firm band yet desists not, nor rests.
12.
He, King of Hills, keeps from the Sun's killing gaze,
Close hid in his caverns' impervious deep maze,
The Genius of Darkness :— who owl-like, below,
There broods unperturbed and sale from his foe.
When th' humble man truly such refuge can find,
The high-headed patrons must be passing kind.
called, from the surprise naturally excited by their appearance (in the same
ni fo«n>r as the Manna that fell in the wilderness received its interrogatory name)
fcTCT: or fararewp *» if we 8Dould **y in English What-men I The place of
these Kmnarae in the creation is laid down by Manu 1. v. 39. See also Moor,
Ward, &c.
3*. 12, Whether CalidAsa in the last two lines of this curious stanza intended
a compliment to patrons, and particularly to the great monarch Vicramaditta,
whose splendid protection of genius and merit, (perhaps indigent or oppressed
by envy) he himself so largely shared, at an era preceding by a very few years that
of the Roman Augustus, — or whether it is to be taken as an oblique satire on
the ^^fijT^j: or " high- headed" patrons of humble men generally, it is not possi-
ble in the dearth of all properly historical and biographical materials, to deter-
hum with any probability. Bnt however this may be, the word m\d [ mamat-
wmm is here undoubtedly to be taken in a simply good sense for partial or friendly
rvporA. Though properly meaning regard to a thing at my own, agreeably to its de-
i from the genitive mama (quasi Latin* mbitatbm diceree, Grace EMOTHTA)
I therefore according to Hindu theological principles requiring, equally with the
C: oMcmiArm derived from the nominative of the same pronoun (viz. to Em,
or " le NOl" of Marmontel, &e.) to be extirpated from the breast of the perfectly
wise man, who is to see all things in God, and to be as free from partial attachment
of any kind as from gross selfishness, — yet in all but Vedantic writings, the former
word la as generally used in an amiable sense, as the latter is in the reverse. Even
the DM-mak&imyam of the Marcandeya Pur&na, intended mainly to shew how
the VaJeya Samadhi at length attained eternal beatitude by expelling both these
feelings from his bosom, — represents the mamatvam or tnamaia, of which he
required to he cured, as one of the kindliest of human sentiments, — viz. a fond
attachment to, and regret for the loss of, a wife and children, who had ungrate-
folly used and deserted him. But perhaps a more distinct idea of the application
of this word and of its origin may be obtained from the following very homely dis-
tich, which I find in the metaphysical play Prmb6dha-Chandr6daya i or Rise of the
Moon of Intellect — (a drama intended to teach the rigid stoical doctrine abore
alluded to,) Act 5, Scene 2.
i. e. " Such kind and partial regret (rnama(d) as is felt for a domestic fowl devoured
by the cat, we feel not for a mere sparrow so killed, still less for a mouse."
Digiti
zed by G00gle
342 7*r Birth of UnA— . [Jult,
13.
For him the large Yaks in his cold plains that bide
Whisk here and there, playful, their tails' bushy pride.
And evermore flapping those fans of long hair
Which borrow'd moon-beams have made splendid and fair, —
Proclaim at each stroke, (what our flapping men sing)
His title of honour " The dread Mountain-King !"
14.
On him, when their conscious self- stripping ev'n shames
The frolicsome spirits of Heavens piping dames,
To please them, the clouds have a thick curtain made,
Which o'er the cave's mouth drops its ahelt'ring broad shade.
St. 13. Of the YAk or Bo$ grwmient, a description may be found in Hamilton's
Hindustan, rol. ii. p. 569, in the midst of the description of Thibet, — or in any
book of Natural History written subsequently to Turner's Embassy to that country.
The conceit contained in these lines of Calidasa, is one which I fear will scarcely ap-
prove itself to the taste of European readers : and can only be understood by explain-
ing 1. that of the hairy tail of this animal, called ^H^ Chamar, the Hindus make
the flappers commonly used for brushing away flies and musquitoes, which are thence
called in Sanscrit ^i*r?f or ^FR*\ but in the common Hindvi language <$ffi
i e. c *i*A- or chowrie : and 2. that the waring of such a chowrie set in a golden
handle over the head of a Prince or over the image of a God, is accompanied
with the proclamation of his name and titles, and reckoned among the constant
emblems or insignia of royalty. [A most striking example of the importance
attached to this may be seen in CoL Tod's Annals and Antiquities of Rajatthan,
p. 265, where an apparition of the sanguinary goddess of Chittore, (a form of our
Parvati) demands twelve regal victims as the price of her continued protection of
the city from the Tatar invaders of the close of the 13th century. " On each day
enthrone a prince : let the kirnia, the chehtra, and the ch&mra proclaim his sove-
reignty, and for three days let his decrees be supreme : on the fourth let him meet
bis foe and his fate. Then only may I remain." The terrible history that followed
the promulgation of this supernatural announcement must be fresh in the mind of
erery reader of that deeply interesting work.] Hence the fancy of the poet : that
the grunting ox, frisking in his natural state on the high table-land of Thibet and
Nipal, anticipates his fine tail's future destiny, and flaps it to proclaim the ho-
nours of his wild liege lord " Himalaya, King of mountains."
St. 14. The poet here returns to the female Kinnaras or hearenly musicians,
whom he left in St. 11, pursuing their laborious way to the upper regions, and
glad to disengage themselves of any clothing that would impede their progress.
He brings them to the mountain-caverns, ever the favourite residence of heathen dei-
ties, of female deities especially ; — in the words of old Hesiod, (Theogon. v. 129.)
dtwv x a P t * yTas iva^Kovs
Nvfi$4w c& vaJLovciv a*' otpea $rfff(Hi€irra.
The covering dropped from the clouds to hide them from view, is vindicated
from every unnatural exaggeralion by the following passage in p. 348 of Fraser's
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1683.} A Legend of Himalaya—by Cdliddsa. 345
15.
His wind, — whether hearing along the chill spray
Far scattered from where, on its snowy white way,
Down dizzy heights plunging, great Ganges' young river
Full darts its precipitous torrent for ever, —
Or shaking the fragrance of tall cedar trees, —
Or spreading the peacocks' tails out to the breeze, —
Is hail'd in its cold, sweet, or languid career,
By tir'd mountain-hunters that chase the swift deer.
Tour to Himalaya. " We had projected the ascent of a snowy peak directly behind
Scran; but on the day intended, the clouds fell down to the foot of the hills, enve-
loping all in the most complete and impenetrable darkness. It was not like a
common mist : it was really a linking of the clouds from the rarefaction of the
atmosphere till they quite shrouded us. 1 *
St. 15. Shaking the fragrance of tall cedar trees.— So I render the word f w y^
dera-dara, which is the Pinus Deodaru of Dr. Roxburgh, and which, as Dr.
WalUch informs me, is very nearly allied to the cedar of Lebanon so celebrated in -
Western Asia. It abounds in the high regions of Nipal and westward, but never '
at a leas elevation than 10,000 feet above the sea : its wood is hard and durable,
retaining a lasting fragrance : the turpentine extracted from it, far exceeding
other kinds in scent. A full account of the tree, (though not a good drawing)
is given by Mr. Lambert in his splendid work on Pines.
Cahdasa in his other great mythological poem the Raghu-vansa, Canto ii. St. 36
and seq., tells a wonderful history of one of these Devadaru cedars that was adopt*
ed by our goddess Parvati, and nourished as her own daughter : and who, when
lacerated by the forehead-rubbing elephants (in the manner described here, St. :
7 and 8,) had a guard placed over her by Siva at the instance of his beloved Parva-
ti, in the person of his servant Kumbhodhara, turned for that special purpose into
a fierce lion. [The whole however turns out at the end, to be but a magic
scene got up by Nandinf the sage cow of Vasistha, in order to try King Dilfpa's
fidelity and devotion to her. See note on St. 23.]
Ibid. Is hail'd, Hfc.— In repeating here the triple character of the light breezes
of Himalaya, I follow the ideas of the Indian commentators. The " tir'd mom-
tam-kmUer*" are the same Kiratas whom we had before in St. 6. The,
sahUatum of the refreshing breeze after a weary chase, as implied in the word
^ iq4 | j j j , may remind us of the invocation under the same circumstances of the
hunter Cephalns, (so fatal to his jealous wife Procris. Metamorph. vii. 837).
£gredk>r, silvasque peto : victorque per herbas
Aura, vbni, dixi, nostroque medere labori.
And I should remark, that it is the same kind of worshipful welcome and nothing
farther, that is intended by the kindred word fr^W j a St. 5 — i. e. the holy de-
votees first " hailing" (not religiously adoring) and willingly seeking for shelter the
huge shades of the mountain clouds ; which, higher up, turn to chilling rain and
mist.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S44 The Birth of Vm4— pin*.
16.
On his crowning lake, as the lotns-flowers grow,
The seven blessed Rishis pluck some ere they blow,
T'adero the fifth heaVn : while the Sov'reign of day.
As circling beneath, he with upward strong raj
Peers o'er the calm waters, the rest ripes apace.
And opes to fall bloom their enchanting soft grace.
St. 16. On his c r o wnin g lake.— The word fj^fjor loteoceurring only as a member
of the compound epithet of the lotus flowers, might be translated with equal gram-
matical correctness, lakes in the plural. If a single lake only be intended, which
the epithet qfif or crowning and other circumstances, seem to make by far the most
probable interpretation, it can scarcely he any other than that called in modern
Hindvi language Mansarour, from the Sanscrit WrirajW^pIT »• e * the great lake
Manasa, situated in the centre of Himalaya, 31* N. 81° E.in an oblong basin of 15
miles by 11, inclosed by the principal range to the south, part of the Kailisa range
peculiarly sacred to Siva on the east, and other high mountains and tame-land on
the north and west : a lake frequented as a place of pre-eminent sanctity by Hin -
du pilgrims, — but before Mr. Moorcroft's visit scarcely known to Europeans. If
however, with Mallinatha,we suppose several high-mountain lakes to be here meant,
we may join with the Manasa the lake of Havana westward of it, whence issues the
great Satadru or Sutlej river, and others: particularly such as Hindu imagination or
the report of probably mendacious pilgrims has fixed on the inaccessible summit of
the high peak Bunder-pooch, (w m^ t f^ V&narapuch'ha, the tail of the Monkey
Hanumin.) See Asiatic Researches, vol. xiii. pp. 189, 190. What the poet h ow e i u
says here, or seems to say, concerning the lake Manasa, — he has elsewhere aaid of
the Ganges, which had been commonly, but erroneously supposed to spring from it
For thus says Rama to Sita in the Raghu-vansa, Canto xiii St. 51, when describing
the mystic forest of the sage Atrt
" Thither, for the due ablution of sages whose wealth is austerity, has Anusoyf
(the wife of Atri) turned the course of Ganges flowing through the three worlds,
the diadem of the three-eyed Siva, her whose golden lotus-flowers are plucked by the
hands of the seven Rishis."
But the intention of Calidasa in this stanza, as his commentators truly any, ista
close his description of Himalaya by a splendid instance of ^ ft l llilfa or hyper-
bole, such a one as, in the words of the rhetorical poet Dandi whom they quota,
** %l%<JtHlOnfiJUl »• «• transcending the limits of the worlds.
— vivida vis animi pervicH et extra
Pervasit longe flammantia msenia nrandi.
For not only does he state the highest summits, to rise above the planetary sphere,
(to use the terms of the Hindu and the Ptolemaic astronomy,) so that the Sun can
Digitized by
Google
1833.] A Legend of Bh*Qay*—dy Cdliddta. 346
\7.
In him. then, the Father of Heav'n and of Earth
Beholding a nature which freely gave birth
only look upwards at their crowning lake,— but above the yet higher sphere
of the fixed stars,— eren to the highest risible celestial sphere occupied by the seven
Rishis, (Marichi, Atri, Angiras, Pulastya, Pulaha, Kratu and Vasistha,) — whose
stations in the pre-eminently favoured seven stars of the Great Bear, are thence ima-
gined by the Hindus, in despite of long astronomical observation, to retain ever the
same position with respect to the poles of the earth, unaffected by the precession
of the equinoxes, that changes the declination as well as the longitude and right
ascension of all inferior stars. Thus the I6ka or world to which these yet unblown
flowers are transferred by the hands of the blessed Rishis is removed by two or
three steps above that of Indra, Snrya, and the other celestial gods, and is only
below the seventh /Jia, the abode of Brahma : which makes it the fifth when the
earth is not included. See Wilson *s Dictionary, Art. ^fTqr.
We need not wonder therefore that in the general destruction of the three
lower worlds, the earth, the region of Munis, and the solar heaven, by a flood at
the dose of the Manvantara, — in which the pious King Vairasvata alone was
preserved in an ark, accompanied by the seven Rishis, — the highest peak of
Himalaya should yet appear above these waters : and that the Rishis should be
commanded by the Divine Preserver (in the shape of a fish), to fasten the ship's
cable to this peak, (the Hindu Ararat,) " thence called," says Vyasa, " Naubaudha-
sssi or the ship-binding even to this day." For so we read in the Aranya-parva or
3rd Book of the Mahabbarata, in the episode Matty ip&kkyantm,
vfimifimii&^vftomfiK ii »*ii
wr wit ipi ir^iwrfwfiwnfw i
wnnfrerw^: ^mu^famnvHU iiu^.ii
waini iff *nire wfffi ircinfc ii Ht ii
Tboagh M. Bopp, in his ingenious preface to the German translation of this
(published in 12mo. undei the title of Die SUn4ftut t at Berlin, in 1829,)
i to distinguish this simpler account of the flood from that translated by Sir
W. Jones, in As. Res. vol. i. No. ix. from the more recent Bhagavat-Purana, the
word ^inm r [ in the 28th verse of the former (which cannot be properly trans-
lated getchopfe or leute, " creatures or men" — instead of welten or " worlds"),
proves this deluge at least to be no less universal than that ascribed by the Bhagavat
to the close of the Manvantara : nor does this mention of the peak of Himalaya
above the waters (which is not in the Bhagavat) at all oblige us to suppose a
more limited flood to be intended by the older writer.
Ibid. And sjms, 1fe<— The causal verb ys j mq fw in this stanza is explained
by the Scholiasts ftqrTOfw i. e. " opens to foil bloom." This meaning does
ant occur in vocabularies : and 1 therefore mention it here. (Compare St. 32).
Digiti
zed by G00gle
34« TheBirtkofUmd— [Jm.T.
To each sev'ral limb of the sacred oblation,
And adequate strength to the world's sostentation, —
Decreed of himself, when to all his great mind
Their portion of dues sacrificial assign'd,
That lordly Himalaya ever by right
Should claim sov'reign power o'er each mountainous height.
18.
He therefore, high Mb'ru'b sole worthy compeer.
To keep his proud lineage untainted and clear, —
Did thence to himself, with divine nuptial rite
The noble nymph Mb'na most wisely unite ;
Whom, sprung from the Pitris* pure spirit alone,
Ev'n Munis might honour and take for their own.
St. 17. A nature that /reefy gave birth
To each sev'ral limb of the sacred oblation.- Theae words are but the
expansion of a single Sanscrit compound, WT%rf*ra which begins the stains.
The limbs (^HTtftr) alluded to, are the flowers and fruits— the sacred grasses,
husa, durva, &c. together with the wood and all other materials required for sacri-
fice, which are so abundantly produced by the mountain.
St. 18. He there/ore, high MM* sole worthy compeer.— The adjustment of
supremacy between Himalaya the highest of mountains in the world, and the peculisr
glory of India on the one hand— and Mount Me>u on the other ; which apart fro*
fable, should seem to have been the central spot of the Brahmanism that from the
north invaded and subjugated the peninsula, (and which if the testimony of Strabo,
Arrian, Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, Eustathius, and others may be admitted reapectiaf
the Indian tradition of ancient times,-must be placed near Nyssa in the mountain, of
Hyrcania orMargiana, not fer from the S. E. extremity of the Caspian in Dormers
Khorasan), seems to be rather a difficult point with Hind6 mythological writers.
The celebrated mystical episode of the Mababharata, the Bhagavad-Gf ta, gin* the
same supremacy among mountains to each separately : for where Crishna in me
13th chapter represents himself as identified with the chief of all orders of crea-
tion as the Bhrigu of Rishis, the Sun of AMityas, the 8dma-V6da of sacred books,
&c. &c. we find him r. 23, saying, jfri BwCV«HH* " I am the Meru of craggf
mountain*," and in r. 25 ^rpr^T fWW " the Hbndlaya of hills,"-f«T-
ing, apparently for the purpose of thus honouring Himalaya, a second mentios
of mountains which is not allowed to any other order of beings. And we hare sees
in our St. 2, how elsewhere in the Mahabbarata and the Puranas, a comproau*
is made between the most sacred central mountain and his snowy compeer, by
making the former the milker by whom,-tbe latter the calf for whom.-tae
choicest treasures of the parent Earth are extracted.
With respect to our present history, we find in the 36tb, 37th, and 3 8th sargas of
the 1st Book of the great Raraayana, called respectively Jrfmfa: ^J"J«SJ
and jwtfmrfn: i. e. the birth of Gang*, the great deeds of Uma, and the birta
Digitized by
Google
1SS&] A Legend */ Bmdhya—ty C<Uidd$u. M*
19.
To thit divine pair, as in fond embrace doe
To conjugal onion, the joyous time flew ;—
The mountain-king's bride, yet in lovely youth's bloom,
A new precious burthen conceiv'd in her womb.
20.
And soon she brought forth the hill-queen's darling pride,
Mainaca, who since to old Ocean allied
of Cumara [I. p. 343—359 of Carey and Marshman, or I. 143—147 of Schlegei],
—that this point is in a manner settled by making M£ru the father-in-law
of Himalaya, i. e. the father of that rery noble nymph Mlna, and through her the
progenitor of Ganga and Uma, the illustrious daughters of Himalaya, as well as of
the god of war Cumara or Carticeya, the offspring by one of them of Siva. It
may seem strange that Calidasa, when about to pursue at length, and in a style of
more ambitious ornament, a story that Valmiki has summed up thus briefly,
should hare departed so widely as it appears in his facts from an authority held so
•acred. Not only does he here deny by implication Mlna's origin from Mlra,
(who is here so distinctly mentioned with reference to Himalaya) , by describing
her as sprung from the memos or mental substance of the Dii Manes or paternal
gods, (whose properties and order in the creation may be seen at length in Manu,
Ch. iii. v. 192—201) : but he also in the succeeding stansas, suppresses erery
mention of Ganga or Ganges as the elder sister of his heroine Uma : mentioning
only in that rank of seniority, the comparatively unimportant Mainaca.
Calidasa however has ample authority in the Puranas for his statement Thus
the Scholiast Mallinatha, (who explains inW^f qptf uere b ? TO Wt '* e -
44 born from the mere volition" of the Dii Manes or Pitris)— cites in confirmation
of St. 18, 19, 20,— the following distich from the Brahmanda-Purana— where we
have the same mutual relation of the Pitris, Mlna, Himalaya, and Mainaca laid
down, (without mention o{ Uma),
HWt JJ HT*rtt f^I ^TT WTO *w0l^i I
and also the following from the VishnU-Purana, making M£na daughter of the Pi-
tris — and assigning to her a highly spiritual and contemplative character (agreeable
to what we read here in St. 22) as well as to her sister Harini.
*ns xpm tpn *ri *wt w ntVflOn \
9 ^w n^nifVuT Sfrfa^T ^mirft fir" n
St. 19. This verse is omitted in my Malayalim manuscript, but its existence in
every other that I have consulted, as well as the internal evidence of its style and
language, bespeak its genuineness.
St. 20. Mahvica surnamed Sunabha, once a mountainous island, is now, since this
act of " Vritra's foe" or Indra [see Mahtoharata IV, § 4 entitled Vritra-badha] a
sunken rock in the gulf (or rather strait) of Menar, that separates Lanca or
Ceylon from the Indian continent. He is introduced by Valmiki as himself telling
the story of this catastrophe : which as it belongs to a part of the Ramayan*
(the 5th book or Smndara-kdnda, 8th section or serga) which has not yet
Digiti
zed by G00gle
HS The BtX* qf Hint— [July.
In bands of strict friendship, alone scap'd the blow
Aim'd full at each mountain by Vmtra's stern foe.
Their wings were all dipt by the ThundW* fierce ire,
But his, the fell bolt left unscath'd and entire.
been published at Serampore or Bonn, may be given entire, with a translation in
corresponding Anustup measure.
The Monkey chief Hanuman, son of Pavana or Maruta (the Indian JEo\o»), while
springing over the strait to Lanca, is accosted from below by Mainaca, begging
him to alight, and partake of rest and refreshment from his hospitality. After some
dialogue upon this,— Hanuman at length expresses astonishment at Mainaca's
condition in these words, and receives the following reply :
snyrr^r t^j^ wr*ni ^rwihf^nc h
mrifr varaifr ^rof* u*to i
irtmf wt*t fw« wit* irronn u
JHW **rihr Jnf fiprrftnfaw: n
Hanuma'n.— - In Ocean's boundless waste, overspread
With huge sea-monsters crowding nigh,
Why hid'st thou thus thy wave-merg'd head ?
Tell me, sage Mountain, tell me why.
Maina'oa.— Erst, mighty chief, on wings forth flew,
Free through all space, the Mountain bands.
Swift as the bird that bears Vishnu,
Or heaven's loud blast that scours the lands.
But as they soar'd aloft, strange fears
Did Rishis, gods and men surprise,
Dreading their fall ; and heaven's King rears
His bolt, — fierce lord of thousand eyes.
Then fell from thousand hills' sides low
The wings by vivid lightnings cleft.
But me, while yet the bolt-arm'd foe
Drew nigh, — unnerv'd, of hope bereft,—
Digitized by
Google
MS*;] A Legend*/ BhrfUv—byVdliddsa. **»
21.
Next Siva's late consort, pure Sat! once nam'd,
Who, towards her lov'd Lord with devotion inflam'd,
Thy pitying sire befaekt : then straight
In his strong windy grasp he bore
Down to this briny depth, where fate
Threatens these shelter'd wings no more.
Here what is represented by Calidasa as the friendly act of Ocean, hiding the
mountain tinder its waters, — is made by Valmiki the act of the God of Wind,
hurrying the winged rock to the protecting depth, — and is therefore the subject
of grateful acknowledgment to the Wind's son.
This catastrophe, (which may be perhaps paralleled in Northern mythology by
Thor aiming his vengeful hammer at the Giants of the Mountains m mid-air,
as told in the Eddaof Snorro, Fab. 11,) is not unfrequently alluded to in the legends
of the Hindus. Thus in the Kast-kanda of the Skanda-Purana there is a
soliloquy of the great mountain Vindhya, full of schemes of envy and ill-will against
M£ru, but suddenly recollecting and deploring his impotence to execute them
when deprived of wings ; and bitterly regretting the wanton petulance of some
one of his race of old that had provoked the Thunderer to this act of severe
vengeance.
srj| iinrurr $^*w?i3* #*ifta»
St. 21. The voluntary burning of Sati, (whose name is here twice repeated
Ipft Wlfl, once as an epithet "pure" or "virtuous," and again as the proper name,)
is among the best known and most constantly repeated tales of Hindu mythology ;
and it is in memory of this that every self-devoted and self-immolating wife obtains
the same sacred name of Sati, i. e. in another spelling of that very common but
often mis-applied term, is a Suitee. The case of the prototype differs materially,
as we may here observe, from the posthumous devotion of her innumerable imi-
tators : the affront which she thus heroically resented was offered to her undying
lord, Siva, by Daxa, son of Brahma, in omitting his distinguished son-in-law from
an invitation to a grand sacrificial feast, at which all the other deities were to be
present. The daughter went, though unasked : but finding only a confirmed con-
tinuance of the slight offered to her beloved husband, she threw herself into the
flame and thus spoiled the sacrifice : upon which Siva, who had been comparatively
indifferent to the preceding affront, avenged her death in the terrible form of
VSra-Bhadra,— beheading his father-in-law (who was afterwards resuscitated with
the head of a goat substituted for his own), and dispersing his guests : and the
several places to which the limbs of Sati were dispersed, in his dance of mingled
triumph and lamentation, obtained an equal sanctity, and were honoured with
the same phallic symbol, as were those which received the several mangled remains
of the Egyptian Osiris by the piety of his wife Isis. (Of these places called
^ l*W T l fir» which are 51 in number, and held in peculiar veneration by the vo-
taries of the Saktis, one distinguished one is at Cali-ghat in the neighbourhood of
this capital, which received the goddess's finger*).
Digiti
zed by G00gle
The Birth of tR*i— [Jwar,
Had giv'n her whole body a prey to the fire,
In wrath at affronts from old Daxa her aire,—
A new mother found for her birth to fresh life
In this beauteous MsW, the mountain-king's wife.
The freedom with which the self-disembodied Sad chooses parents for a new
birth to fresh life, (inferior indeed in station to the former one, inasmuch as Pitris,
gods, and Mania, yield in dignity to the ten Brakm&dk&t, of whom Daxa was one,
i. e. the next after Brahma, and his sacred Triad,) — is all in accordance with the dec-
trine of the Indian metempsychosis, which compares this change to the shifting of
garments. So the Bhsgavad-Gfta, II. 22.
wwTfw inwrfw *^r CTrrf* i I ^Hfrf*r ^rfir wwrPr ^t u
To which may be compared a statement of similar liberty in Plato's Phadrm
(vol. x. p. 326. ed. Bipont.)
Though Satf daughter of Daxa, is the first birth of the goddess 8M, (or wife of
Siva) a name which therefore equally designates Sati and Parvatf or Umi, — we are
not to consider this as the first emanation of the all-powerful energy so personified.
As M aha -May 4, or Prakriti, or Ambica, the Great Mother, the principle of afl
nature, and variable or transitory existence,— she is Deri or the Godde$$ by way of
eminence, and holds a place in Hindu theology coeval with, and in some sort superior
to, the Triad itself, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, — the triple form which the before quies-
cent and inactive deity (the neuter brahma or numenj assumed respectively for the
Production, Support, and Destruction of the world. This characteristic feature of
Gentile theology is detailed by Marcandlya, in that singular episode called the Deri
Mabatmyam, or exploits of this wondrous goddess — where, in the first chapter, she
is described by the Rishi Mldhas as lulling Vishnu the preserver into a deep sleep,
by which the world's creator, Brahma, is threatened with destruction : who accord-
ingly invokes the goddess as pl jjajr^ , or lady of the universe, and superior to
himself, Vishnu and Siva, — beseeching her, that she would leave his preserver to
awake and destroy the invading demons. In the next chapter we have the same
goddess springing into more visible existence from the united splendours and
energies of all the celestial deities, when expelled from heaven by the demon
Mahisha,— on which occasion Himalaya among the rest presented her with jeweb
and with her attendant lion : thus armed as the terrible Durga, she destroys Ma-
hisha, and receives the homage of all the immortals. Her incarnation in the
beautiful form of Gaari, Siva, or Parvati the nymph of Himalaya (from which she
emerges in another form, to encounter the demons Sumbha and Nisumbha), b said
in the 4th and 5th chapters, to be subsequent to this, as well as several other
more terrible incarnations, which she specifies herself, (after her exploits as Catf
and concentrator of the energies of all the gods,) in the 11th chapter. Bnt it
Is remarkable that in neither place where the birth of Parvati is mentioned m
that book, (IV. 33—35, and V. 40—43) is any allusion made to her preceding
birth from Daxa as Sati : and the same omission is equally observable in the
chapters respecting Uma in the 1st Book of the Ramayana.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] A Legend q/Hmdkwa—by Cdliddsa. * 351
22.
Of her, then immere'd in devotion's thoughts deep.
Begot by the monarch of ev'ry high steep, —
Did Siva's lost love once again upon earth
Derive from new parents a fortunate birth.
Ev'n thus, in the womb of Morality pure,
'Midst earth's turbid toil still unshaken and sure.
By strong Perseverance's virtue, I wot,
The infant Prosperity's ever begot.
23.
For blest was that birth-day, — its sky beaming fair ;
No cloud of earth's dust ever soil'd its pare air :
Loud conchs' swelling blast, follow'd close by sweet flowers
Rain'd down from glad skies, usher'd in its gay hours :
And moving or fix'd, ev'ry bodily thing
Partook the loud joy of the great mountain-king.
St. 22. The comparison of sensible to intellectual objects, though very rarely (and
as some opponents of the Ossianic poems contend, never) occurring in the poetry
of the rude and heroic ages of the world, is not uncommon in that of a more cul-
tivated and reflecting state of society ; and in a people so metaphysical in the cast of
their minds as the Hindus might be expected more frequently than in Others.
A rery curious instance of this inverted species of simile occurs in our author's
Ragku-vaxsa, Canto xiii. St. 60 — where the subject matter of comparison is the
plucking of the lotus flowers from the parent lake of the Saryn river by the hands
of the female Yaxa deities (resembling what was described in St. 16 of this book)
—and where this sensible object is illustrated by one which can only be under-
stood by those who have entered into the intricacies of the Sankhya metaphysical
philosophy. The latter half of this stanza is another remarkable instance of the
tame kind of comparison, as it is also of Indian allegory. Niti (fern.) or morality,
might more exactly, as to etymology, and almost equally well as to meaning, be
rendered conduct. Uts/ha (masc), which in the original as well as in the trans*
l&tion, is linked with the word guna, quality or virtue, — means strenuous and per"
nttring exertion. Samp at (fem.) is wealth* affluence or prosperity.
St. 23. The falling of a shower of flowers from heaven is a token of the pleasure
tad approbation of the celestial gods. Thus, in the Rag hu-t ansa of our author,
n. 60, when the pious Jung Dilipa offered to devote his own life instead of that of
the cow Nandini to Siva's lion before mentioned that guarded the sacred cedar of
Parrati,— and his offer was accepted by the hungry wild beast,— his deliverance
from expected death, and the breaking of the spell by the immortals that applauded
hit fidelity, was preceded by that sign.
*%*** **TOfir?r; TOT«rm I *w v«ia<Rmft g^rf*:
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S52 The Birth of Umd— P<xit,
24.
And gloriously well, with a daughter to bright
As seem'd a new orb of pure orient light,
Did she, the fair mother, herself doubly shine :
So glows with fresh splendours Vidu'ra's fam'dmine;
When, cleft by electric new clouds' starting sound,
Its thunder-struck jewels dart out from their ground.
" At this instant, over the protector of his subjects" (roiptya Kauv in Sanscrit)
" as with face averted, he expected the dreadful spring of the lion— a shower of
flowers fell, sent forth from the hands of the celestial Vidyddkaras." [This appro-
bation ended in the sacred cow permitting herself to be milked by the king in t
leafy pail of that which he most desired,— the gift of offspring to perpetuate the race
of Raghu, from which the great Rama was to spring. Compare St. 2, supra.]
Ibid, The mountain-ton^ is not mentioned in the original of this stanza. But the
Sthavaras or fixed beings peculiarly denoting mountains, their sympathy with their
king's joy seemed a proper addition to the mention of their own.
St. 24. Did Me, the fair mother. Some copies, and those not uncommon in
Bengal and Hindustan, instead of wfVq) or mother, have ^tx^ft the emrti : taw
instead of the lovely Mlna, making the universal mother Earth to shine by so
beautiful an occupant. A meaning which beside being insipid in itself, utterly
destroys the spirit of the comparison that follows. The commentaries of Malli-
natha and Bbarata-Mallica prove that they both read Savitri.
Ibid. Vidu'iia, the Sanscrit for " remote," is also the proper name of a mountain
said to produce the lapis taiuU, which is thence called fa ^ay and HT&.
The curious native treatise on various subjects of natural history, called Cdjpo»
pukti, — opens its account of the parlxa or test of this precious stone, by the
following extraordinary lines, which fully illustrate the meaning of Catidaaa here,
" From a cry of the giant son of Diti, resembling the roaring of the trousfcd
ocean at the dose of the Calpa, sprung the variegated vaMsysm (lapis lasa*>,
source of colours of a bright and ravishing splendour. Not far from the
declivity of Mount Vid6ro, was the mine of that precious stone, but limited
to particular seasons for its production, and then closed. First from die
origination of that demon cry, did this mine suddenly spring in the world,
Digitized by
Google
!88&] A Legend x>f HhndUf&-lp Cdlidasa. 969
25,
As first, a thin streak of soft silvery light,
The gleaming new moon in the West meets our sight,
eminent in its properties, the ornament of the three worlds : but erer since, on
the mattering of the clouds of the rainy months (July and August), imitating the
sound of that prince of demons, are those beautiful vaidtrya gems emitted, of
raried lustre, and rapid effulgence as of a multitude of fierjr sparks."
Mallinatha cites the second sloka of the above description, as from an anony-
mous budha or sage, to point out the mount Vidura here meant by Caliddsa : but
the other Scholiast, Bharata-Mallica, erroneously explains Vidura here as prabd-
Utpcttirtkdnam, i. e. a place where coral is produced, — a sense unknown to San-
scrit vocabularies. Except for the substitution of coral for lapis lazuli, he coincides
with the above quotation — citing for the extraordinary phenomenon here mention-
ed the same Cabalistic authority from which we have the blazing herbs of St. 10 and
30 ; 5ntv*wrcfanw 5r*T*rrjriwwi s "sftrannfa*nr^fit«irnw * •• From the
muttering of the clouds in the rainy months (July and August), darts of coral
gems make their appearance on the earth. So says the A'gama (or Tantra)."
The situation of Vidc'ra, if we may trust the Scholiast on the following parallel
passage from the 12th canto of the Nauhadha of Sri Harsha, is identified with that
of mount R6hana or Adam's Peak in Ceylon. Among the many unsuccessful sui-
tors of the beautiful Damayanti in that canto, is a Malabar prince of great riches and
liberality, whom the goddess Sarasvati thus recommends to the fair virgin's accept-
ance : —
" Mount Vidura, abundant in gems that spring forth at the sound of thunder-
clouds, yet becoming unacceptable to the beggars (that before flocked to it) through
this more munificent king, — shall, however remote as its name indicates, become
so near (if you accept this Southern monarch) that it shall be to you as a pleasure
mount." As the Scholia referred to illustrate the words of Calid&sa before us, as
well as those of Sri Harsha, they may be added for the satisfaction of the Sanscrit
student.
^r#tat atft T^n tot to tot^ <M«faMieii *twmqir*i iriwt
aftrofir fcymfiiMwH ^rcuf^h *ttow ftrw% ^v^inr TO^rrfa*-
^piTOT^#tTOT *Tfro: ^raro ^ranvratTOr tot TOt%*t Ws ir*s
w^rwinT^n:^^: trft^tt to^ fw^rn^r f% to wiwiiiTOreT wmj*i
nm ni^tff^ ^ifirajw**^ *f* ^nws^rmi?in^^mrm^: via
St. 25. As daily new digit*, ^c— The w? or Indian digit, is not as with
European astronomers, f f of the diameter of the Moon's disc, but <{ 9 only.
z z
Digiti
zed by G00gle
So she, the sweet infant, appear'd : bnt full soon,—
As daily new digits annex'd to the moon
Give birth to new phases,— so she, day by day.
Grew still to fresh forms of more lovely array.
26.
Her. dear to her kindred, the relatives all.
As mountain king's daughter, did Pa*vati' call :
But after, when bent upon mortification
Most strict and religious, the fond deprecation
Burst forth from her mother, " Oh no '."—thence it came
That Uma, " Oh no !" was the lovely girl's name,
There U therefore the accession of one of these for every TUhi or lunar day of
the nslapaam, or waxing moon. _
8t 26 PA'avATi'.-This feminine noon^rafoft is the regular patronymic tei-
rative from rpqn porvotn or " mountain." The ascription of these two -net,
Pastati' and Uma', to the goddess in her second birth, is related at length in las
Siva Purina, 2nd part (or Mttora-ihotuU), 13th chapter.
' Ibid. When bent upon mortification. «fe.-The same is told of Urn* (as«-
tinguiahed fromber elder sister Gangi), by Valmlki, Rimayaaa, I. cap. 37, St 1».
—(Vol. i. P. 148, ed. Schlegel.)
Ibid That U-ma' " Oh no!" &c.-The latter Sanscrit particle w "* - (•** ™
cognate me, * or M in Persic, „ in Greek) the dehortttive " no," commonly prefa-
ed to the imperative or optative mood ; as w m» (*e same with *«^^J
„„d Teutonic particle) is the simple negative «. «o~ or "not, J«^"£
indicative. The former particle * V, which is chiefly for w»t of an .qmnim
Aort word in English, rendered « Oh»-i. one that is ^J* «~~J£
the ordinary clusical l.ng«ge, though of very frequent occurrence uv Aajte
dbkct of the Veoas. There It may be found often annexed as .f **« **T
Mtion to the aeveml case, of the demonstrative pronoun **. «W«-
fa composition, when in that ancient Sanscrit (a. » Greek and ,n German^ **
the fee* to not admtosible in common Sanscnt), they are sep«tod from**
Terbs* ; and not unfrequently annexed separately to verbs or to nouns, precede
or following :-in all these cases apparently bearing a meaning »*«««*
L word to which it to anoexed.-viz. (that which so often belongs t. As
tnZtZ-precue^or'-mer^- Thus we And it in the followmg s~
from the r,&-,Ana Upanis«l, which U the closing 40th chapter of the great ta-
Srf*. vJ« V^da, the Vaja-Saneya-Saahita of D.dicbi Mom, wbicbl
qui 2 » apposite to the subject of this sua** to shew how «*«--£2
or Wfenjw of the most andwt language. They aiemtftar wimwu
of this exprearive particle V.
Digitized by
Google
1 833 J A Legend of Himalaya— by Cdliddsa. 85?
27.
Though blest with a son, not on him did the sight
Of th' earth-bearing hill-monarch dwell with delight :
For thus in the genial spring season, when flowers
All various invite from its numberless bowers,
The swarm of fond bees will there only, where grows
The sweet mango-blossom, with pleasure repose.
**r *rq t* ^ *r*T * ^ ft^nn- vm i vui
Blind darkness do they incur, who cherish ignorance (I- e* action without contem-
plation).
Bat greater darkness, as it were, than this do they incur, who delight in knowledge
merely |^r],
tfor one thing, they say, is gained by (contemplative) knowledge, another by igno-
rance (or action).
Thus have we heard from wise men, who have so instructed us :
Be who knows how to pursue both, knowledge and ignorance (thus defined) together
'Having by ignorance passed over death, by knowledge obtains immortality.
St, 27. The attachment of bees to the blossom of the mango, in Sanscrit wr
«r 'WIT (C**** or <Amrita) is one of the common-places of Hindu poetry. See
the songs of Jayadlra, as translated by Sir W. Jones, Works, vol. iv. p. 242, (8ro.
edition). But a more elegant example of this cannot be found than what is fur-
nished by Calidasa himself in the 5th Act of his justly celebrated drama, the
Sakuntala, where the following song from behind the scenes reminds King Doah-
snanta of his inconstancy to his first attachment.
Pracrit text. Or in Sanscrit. '
^ifHrTO *TWTTOny < ft Abhinava-madhu-ldbha-bh&vuta*
TT* mR^P*]^ ^NltUlCt TavaperickuMbtia^ka*-4nmtfarhm
%H^J^f^"ftt|fH^I^T KamaUt-raedtimdtra-nirvritS,
KW1K ft'^lR^fij ^ *^f MadAuiarafvumarUAyatinanutokamf
Iln-novi-mellis-cupidinem-conversus,
Tui osculum-olim-expertum-MangifenB-surculum
Loti-sapore-nimium-occupatus
O meUifer ! obliriaceris sane quomodo ?
Digitized by
Google
356 " Birth ofUmd— [Jult,
28.
As lamps by their radiant crest of sharp flame, —
As heaven's path by Ganges, of far- flowing fame, —
As scholars by th* eloquent charm of pure speech, —
Their last and best forms of accomplishment reach ;
So he by this daughter, the crown of his race,
Was cleans'd from all stain and adorn'd with all grace.
" How shouldst thou, O bee, turning to the desire of new honey, and occupied
too entirely with the lotus's sweetness, forget the mango blossom which thou hast
so often kissed ?" A comparison with this text will shew that M. de Chezy's ver-
sion of this, " Se pourrait-il, abeilie vohge, fyc." in p. 102 of his very splendid
and valuable edition of the " Sacountala"— though somewhat paraphrastic, bis
greatly the advantage in point of correctness over that of Sir W. Jones — " Svtet
bee, &c." (Works, ix. p. 464,) which is marred by the misplacing of a very signi-
ficant clause. But M. de Che*zy is utterly mistaken as to the metrical harmony of
this exquisite stanza, which he supposes (in p. 227 of the notes) to be in the A'rvi
measure of the kind called Otti, (but UdgdthA in the Pingala,)— in order to which
he is obliged to suppose a new license, inadmissible in that metre, — and has abo,
in this imagination, allowed a very faulty reading f^ptft$f% for foqifcflfq
in the fourth line. The uniform succession of long and short syllables in these
lines is sufficient to shew that they are not A'rya lines of any kind. They
are of a very common metre of alternate 10 and 11 syllables, called Jper*
I* .u ji * -v .• r *.• v x f 1 and «*• Proceleusm. Anapaest. Dijamb.
naktram : the distribution of which is, < _ , . „ . n , f , * ,
I 2 and 4. Proceleusm. Choriamb. Dyamb.
St. 28. Of far flowing fame.^-In the original farrjfirr i. e. " the triple-pathed,"
or " whose course is through the three worlds." See Amara Cosha, IX. § 3. si 31,
(p. 69. ed. Colebrooke). The question is put and answered in the Rainarana,l
37. St. 3.
<far "t^t ^g^rr *far vuilSwmwjft i
" Why does Ganges, purifier of the worlds, flow in three courses — and by what
works, O thou who knewest righteousness, is she attended, (i. e, for what is tat
accompaniment of her purifying water required,) throughout the three w orlds ?"
No other topic of this remarkable triple comparison requires illustration, except
that by ^^MMJCJtfJHJ in the third, is meant the utmost perfection and correct-
ness of Sanscrit speech.
[To ke concluded in the September number.]
Digitized by
Google
1833.] A Legend of Htrndldfa—by Cdliddsa.
33»
w^rpH furf*r *ii5n*i1*i
Tr^rf^rt *54*$Mf inn
f%r f% ^rtT *r^faqi?t
twanft^r: ftnc^f^^rf : i * i
*mi hw ft ***** w i a i i
**IW^<PniKUI«i
^*i^-tmf*i*i mjpnif ii « ii
J*fif«r TOmnrcrfa f%^x: ii ^ it
qftrreTTfo ^rfr»n*ri i
*Wni§ •• *Ncftwt faTOcTP U { II
Ho II
vW^wt Piww i i
<1WJJT. qMM<lM i: II V II
fi^Pu K*SJ Jrfinr^j^: || \\ II
^iW f^i^nfajranrrr i
JHMvgqtfiuJimjfH II VI ll
* i wft«q ftq r Mii i»k
#*5r*rt *T*WRWW M \? II
4t^tHI-f<UiJMIV4f4il
M ? l*Wlft fi^r*Hfi l *HI4(
fa^fcWT m*^j H^Pfl II l« II
• Some Malayalim MSS. have frlftfinft .
t One Malabar MS. places this sloka after the next following.
I Some Bengal MSS. have ^ntffif^.
I SomeMSS.hareqr ijiq^nf ; in the plural*
Digitized by
Google
35S Birth of Umar-
HN7U*ffli|WU[t*ilWf
q>irwu* fn *n«ifoi«q
innf* ^wnvi^mifa
lteifiRrt^wifiitt* n \* ii
^ mT^f titm: Pnnft
***rt f*ro fenra farftrar: i
^rnrrnvrt ftfa«lm3il n \^ 11
**jv*itaiq ir^r. sin
IpfTT* *IH*l*Jf *W
jRiTi^WTT^nmn: 11 %e u
*wror%rf«rfTO*wi
\Svtt,
*jqiftMwq4M i fq, *wrri
nfiprcr mn*i*a* ii *« n
jpfrw. *iqwwiPi3^«l
itt Tri ^^Hiifaai^w ^TWr
warfinrt w*wwt «prrw i
^wfir ni*n in%iiPiPiii
tr*r$in*ri w*l iron *< ii
vfaiiA* wnw«fiti
1l^iTinjT + wfiriNsrt ii *% n
i|*|IH^fi|| fit<rt * {U^f,
*Jnm«iw fro n41<\
TO*S^fa*fw*rwii Vii
* This aloka is omitted in a Malayalim MS.
f Several MSS. hare here qfcift forqfqrft.
I Some MSS. have irnpif for i(^nt
§ Some MSS. hare ^*r.
U Some MSS. hare iptf}.
4 Some MSS. adding Vuargm in thaae two place*, main the wfcok pfanl
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1853.] The Pa*-chakl or Native Water-mill. 35£
II.— Description of tike Pan-chaki or Native Water-mitl. ^
On the mountain streams and rivers in the Northern Dodb, the
Natives use a water-mill for grinding corn, which for its simplicity ia
welLdeserving attention, as it might be applied in all countries, where
a fall of water can be commanded, and where a want of efficient
workmen renders the complicated and expensive species of mill ma-
chinery, generally used, a matter of difficulty to manage or keep in
repair. In the hands of the Natives and with the rude means that they
have by them, it may be perhaps considered the only sort of mill that
could be turned to any account, both from the absence of any compli-
cation in its parts, and from the simplicity of its construction, render-
ing it in any man's power for a trifling outlay, either to fix his mill
at any point that may suit him, or to remove it at pleasure ; the only
weighty parts about it being the mill-stones, which however by run-
ning a stick through them, and yoking a bullock or pair of bullocks-
to them, may in the neighbourhood of roads or common tracks be also.
removed with as little difficulty or expense as the rest of the machinery.
A horizontal water-wheel with floats placed obliquely so as to receive
a stream of water from a shoot or funnel, the said float-boards being
fixed in a vertical axle passing through the lower mill-stone, and held
to the upper one by a short iron bar at right angles, causing it to
revolve with the water-wheel ; — the axle itself having a pivot working
on a piece of the hardest stone that can be procured from the shingle
near at hand : — this with a thatched roof over it, and the expense and
trouble of digging a cut so as to take advantage of a fall of water * — are
the only articles required in this very simple mill. The plan is so ob-
viously good, not only for the means gained, but also from the simpli-
city rendering the whole almost independent of repair, and so intelli-
gible in its parts as to come within the comprehension of the simplest
understanding, that it has been adopted generally in all the canals in
the Delhi district, as well as in those of the Dodb ; and with such suc-
cess, that the introduction of such mills, wherever sufficient fall
is provided, is as much an object, on account of the profit arising to
the canal returns, as from the accommodation and convenience offered
to the community, in providing the means for grinding corn.
On reference to the accompanying plate, it will be seen that there
is only one motion, and that supposing the materials are good, the
permanency of the machinery depends entirely on the lower pivot. It
will also be evident that there is not a part of the whole machinery that
could not be repaired and put in perfect order by the commonest village
Digiti
zed by G00gle
360 The P*%-ckaU or Native Water T mill. [Jrer,
workman, a matter of importance in the absence of mechanical skill and
practised workmen. Whereas in the plainest undershot wheel applied
to a mill for grinding com, there are no less than three wheels of
different descriptions; the change of vertical to horizontal motion ; — and
three pivots to keep in order, with a friction, even under the most skil-
ful management, tending constantly to disarrange the parts, and render
the accompaniments of a forge and blacksmith's shop absolutely neces-
sary to keep the mill in order.
On the canals it has been found worth while to construct permanent
buildings for these corn mills*, and although keeping most strictly to
the original simplicity of the machinery, they are set up with greater
care, and means are given for regulating the motion, &c. which renders
the whole as perfect as it can well be.
It would appear that a fall of water (that is to say, the difference of
level between the Surface of the head supply and the float-boards of
the water wheel), equal to three feet, is the minimum in which this
species of machinery can be used with any good effect; and it has been
found that with a fall of three feet, the dimensions of the shoot or
funnel require an addition in width, to obtain that by weight of water,
which the smallness of the fall will not give by velocity alone, and in
the dimensions of shoot given to those of a higher class.
The following are the particulars of mills on the Dodb canal, divided
into three classes from the depth of the fall ; the width of shoot on die
sill or waste-board, being 12 inches, and the discharge per second
averaging 6.5 cubic feet : the diameter of mill-stones 27 inches, and
thickness 12 inches ; — the corn being ground into atta or coarse flour.
Cltu$. Fall qf water. Atta gnwnd per hour.
ft. in. md. seer.
No. 1 7 6 1 26
S 5 6 15
3 3 6 o 17
The common mills used in the Jumna and mountain-streams, are said
to grind from 5 to 7 maunds of atta per day, or in 24 hours; the ma-
chinery being of the rudest description, the supply of water very small,
and a great part of that escaping through the shoot before it touches
the water wheel.
The return to Government on the mills is obtained generally by
farming them out to contractors for fixed periods, who pay so much
per day as long as a supply of water equal to that entered in the con-
tract is provided, regulated by the depth of water on the sill or
* Vide Major Colrtn's Report, p. 121.
Digitized by
Google
1 838.] The Pan-ckaki or Native Water-mill. 361
waste-board ; this return of course varies not only from the pow-
ers of the mill, but also from their position relatively to populous
towns and cantonments. In the neighbourhood of Delhi the return is
great, and demand for atta equally so ; whereas at other points distant
from towns* mills of equal power would not produce half the return.
The Dodb canal, although possessing every advantage in fall and
power of machinery, labors under a disadvantage in this respect, the
town of Sahdranpur being the only one throughout its whole extent
where there is any great demand for machinery of this description.
Skdmli, although a large town, does not contain a great number of that
class of people who purchase atta, each family grinding their own
corn for home consumption ; and although there are ample means for
establishing mills at the south end of the canal opposite Delhi, (the
canal falling into the Jumna with a descent of about 50 feet in a line of
. 12 miles !) jjt has been considered unadvisable to put them in extended
practice, on the supposition that the mills already built on the
Delhi canal in the city would suffer from the competition ; — in short,
that the mills in Delhi are sufficient to grind the corn required by its
population.
The people from whom the millers look for profit are chiefly those
♦f the sipahi class, travellers, those without families, idlers, &c. those
who are regularly settled with their families, trusting as I before said
to the hand-mill in their own house, and not purchasing from the
mills excepting on marriages and other grand occasions, when the con-
sumption of atta is more than their own mill could provide for. In
military cantonments the whole of the atta and flour used is obtained
from the mills; the vicinity therefore of a station of this description
becomes a lucrative aflair to the miller, in exemplification of which I
may mention, that during the existence of the Provincial Battalion at
Sahdranpur, the canal mills at that place were kept constantly in
their service, with little or no aid from the inhabitants of the town.
The profit derived by the renter of a mill depends in a great mea-
sure on his management, and on the rate per maund which he charges
for grinding ; but with an experienced and steady man, the following
may be considered as a very close approximation to their daily profit.
The rate per maund for grinding atta by the Peesunyarit or corn-grind-
ers in the city, is generally three annas, for which sum they deliver the
articles at the purchaser's house ; at the water-mills two annas per
maund is the usual charge, not however including the carriage of the
grain to the mill* &c. the charge of two annas being simply for
grinding.
2 A
Digiti
zed by G00gle
3© The Pan-chaki or Native Water-milK [Juir,
• The expenses to the miller Tor keeping 2 mills at work are thus.
Per month* 1 head miller's wages, Rs* 5
1 assistant ditto ditto, 4
1 weigh man,. , 4
Oil at \ seer per day, about .... 1 00
2 seers of atta given per day to 2
millers, in addition to their regu-
lar pay, about 2 7
Total expense per month, Rs. 16 7
or per day, taking a month of 30 days, 8 9?
The receipts per day are as follows :
Supposing 55 mds. of grain ground at 2 ans. per md. 6 14
Deduct.
Expenses as above,. . * . 8 9f
Government rent, 5
[ 5 8 9 T
Balance of profit to miller per day, Rs. 1 5 2|
The above daily expenses would not be increased by an additional
jjj^ the profits to the contractor in that case could therefore be much
increased ; whereas a solitary mill would very nearly require the same
establishment, and would therefore be less profitable; mills of a higher
power also might be easily worked with the above scale of establish-
ment.
At mills distant from towns, the payment for grinding corn is made
in kind, varying from 2 to 4 seers per maund, which, at the usual rate
of from 40 to 50 seers per rupee, is but a moderate return in compa-
rison with that at the town mills. These village mills grind gram,
barley, and Indian corn, as well as wheat.
The stones used on the canals are chiefly those from the quarries
near Agra, Rupbas, and Fatihpur Sikri, a coarse-grained sandstone
which requires the chisel every second day, — there are three sizes used;
First size, diameter 36 inches, depth 12
Second ditto, — 30 inches, do.
Third ditto, — 27 inches, do.
The two latter are in most general use. Stones of the usual quality last
for about 2^or 3 years, that is to say, at the end of that period a new
tipper, stone is provided, and the old one placed below* In the native
mills on the Jumna, stones about 22 inches diameter, and from 10 to
Digiti
zed by G00gle
,1833.] .The Pan-chaK or Native Water-mlXl. ■ 363
12 inches thick, are quarried in the vicinity of Rdjpur north of
Dehrah; they appear to me of an inferior description, though of various
qualities ; — the native millers, however, prefer some of them to the Agra
stone, and it is not impossible that some of the best variety from Rdjr
par may be superior to the worst from Agra, but generally speaking
the preference is decidedly in favor of the latter.
The best method of delivering the water from the shoot on to the float-
boards, appears to be that represented in the accompanying sketch, and
which has been generally practised on the canals in pursuance of the usual
course adopted by the natives. A trial made at Hansi, in which a hori-
zontal (or nearly horizontal) shoot applied to the lower part of a cistern
delivered the stream on float-boards whose planes were parallel to the axis
of the arbor or upright, did not answer so well as was expected, owing
in a great measure, it was supposed, to the introduction of anew system,
which unless palpably advantageous, is certain to meet with objections
from the people to whom the mills are entrusted ; but although the
limits of this paper will not allow me to enter into a discussion on the
point in question, I am much inclined to consider that the latter me-
thod is not only objectionable, but that the power obtained in applying
it to this simple water-wheel is much less than the other ; a matter
to be settled by practical experiments, and not by theoretical specula-
tions. Belidor, in speaking of a mill of this description, says, " En
Provence et dans une bonne partie du Dauphine\ les moulins y sont
d'une grande simplicity, n'ayant qu'une roue horizontale, de 6 ou 7
pieds de diametre, dont les aubes sont faites en cuillerPs* pour recevoir
le choc de l'eau, qui coule ordinairement dans un auge ; L'arbre, qui
repond a la meule supe>ieure, est la seule piece qui sert a lui commu*
niquer le mouvement, et je ne crois pas qu'il soit possible de faire un
moulin a moindre frais ; il est vrai qu'il faut pouvoir menager une
chute comme celle que Ton voit ici, et qui sont tres frequentes dans ce
pays la.
" La roue tourne sur un pivot dans une crapaudine pratiquee au mi-
lieu de l'entretoise du chassis, servant a approcher les deux meules,
par le moyer de la vis se qui est a rextremite* de la piece, et de l'ecrou,
que Ton fait tourner pour hausser ou baissir le chassis.
"Les roues que Ton voit executees dansela gontdecell ci ont leur
cuilleres simplement assemblies a l'arbre par un tenon et une cheville,
** These cuilleres, or spoon-shaped ends, are mere indentations in the native
mills, and the trough alluded to by Belidor for the delivery of the water at an
angle of about 25° is in the native mills a square tube or shoot placed at an angle
dt 45°. The crapaudine and the arrangement for raising or depressing the upper
stone by the transom in which it is fixed, is also practised in the native mill. f
2a2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
'364 The Pan-chaM or Nctwe Water-mill. [July,
fortifiers par le desaona par des membrures qui lea entretiennent tootet
ensembles." He goes on to explain a method of opening and shutting
the water-course or shoot, which is of no consequence here. It will be
seen however, that this mill is exactly on the same plan as that used is
this part of India, and it is a pity that the account did not proceed
and explain the powers of the mill, that we might draw a comparison.
It would also be interesting to know whether the increased size (the
Provence mill being about double the size in diameter of water-wheel,
&c.) would not detract from the simplicity of the little native mill;
for the great advantage of the latter appears to be the absence of com-
plicated wood and iron- work, especially joints and iron bindings, &c
all of which increase with length of lever, or length of radii of the
water-wheel : indeed the above account shews a complication of «m-
brures, &c. which in the native mill are not thought of.
Northern Doab, April 30, 1833.
Reference to Plate XII.
Fig. 1. Elevation of the water-wheel, with the stones in section to reprweat
the iron spindle.
At #, a hole of about 4 inches diameter and 4 inches deep is made in the mora,
into which a quartz boulder is firmly fixed ; the said stone or boulder having u
indentation made in it to receive the pivot.
This pivot, as represented in fig. 4, consists of another stone of the same quality
of about 4 or 5 inches long and 1 inch square, which is firmly fixed into the tsfl
of the arbor, (see y.) The above stones are picked up in the beds of the moaataia
rivers, and are used as they are found without any stone cutting.
Fig. 2. Plan of water-wheel, 30 float boards of sissu wood.
Fig. 3. Upper joint of arbor.
Fig. 4. Lower joint of ditto, shewing the iron straps fixed between etch float
board, to keep them firmly in position, the strap represented in fig. 5.
Fig. 5. Strap as above.
Figi. 6 and 7. Float board and end of ditto ; the float board 12 inches long, with
a spoon sunk 4 inches.
Fig. 8. Iron ring that slips over the top of arbor, and holds the two joints toge-
ther.
Figs. 9 and 10. The spindle and plate upon which the upper mill-stone tarns.
Fig. 11. Sketch of mill stones with basket stand, &c
c. Hopper or basket.
*. Shoe.
e. Feeder, or small piece of wood hanging to one lip of the shoe, and resting os
the mill-stone, each revolution of which gives the shoe a jog, causing the corn to
run constantly from the hopper through the shoe.
d. String attached to the opposite lip of the shoe, to which the feeder if, sod
by tightening or loosening which, the discharge of corn is regulated.
e. Stand.
Fi. 12. Shoe on a large scale : this is generally cut out of a block of kk
(Bute* frondosa), or any wood easily worked.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
J5D5T
J*lXll
Sketch vtwa termill
for grinding Corn,
(U used in iAe JortAernDoab.
2 f^A* jQog le
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4833.] Salt Works at Panchpadder. tSS
III.— Description of the Salt Works at Panchpadder, in Mdrwdr. My
Lieutenant A. Burnes, Bombay Army. ^ p. '
At Panchpadder, in Mdrwdr, about six miles north of the river
Sunt, there are extensive salt works under the Jodhpur Government,
yielding to it annually considerable revenue, in a cent, per cent. tax.
The tract which furnishes the salt is a spacious saline plain, about 12
miles long and six broad, commencing three or four miles west-
ward of the town of Panchpadder, and hemmed in all other sides by the
sand hills of the desert.
In this space there are about seven hundred salterns, each of which
is 200 feet long, by 60 broad, with a depth of 12 feet. Within this
space the water, which is saline, rises from the soil to a height of four
or five feet ; and a jungle shrub, called Mar&ri, is carefully disposed
in layers under and over it. To these the saline particles adhere and crys-
tallize, and in the course of two years the whole depth of liquid becomes
a mass of salt, the'process of crystallization commencing from the bottom.
The shrub which is so essential to this process is of a grey or ashen
colour, and grows in abundance on the sand hills of the Thar or desert.
It must possess certain properties to adapt it for the purpose. In ap-
pearance it is like the Babul with thorns, but no other shrub is so
suited to the manufacture of salt as Martri. Lawn, or loan, a
low stunted bush, like evergreen, which is always to be found in salt
and level plains, is sometimes used in its stead, but the salt is then of
&n inferior description. The natives say, that Marilri is a salt plant :
it does not appear so to the taste. The fact of lawn serving
however indifferently as a substitute for it, shews that it must be of a
saline quality ; for that shrub when burnt yields abundance of alkali, and
never grows, but in soils impregnated with salt. The salt manufac-
tured at Pokran, Phaldd, and Sdmbar, places in Mdrwdr, is by a differ-
ent process from what is here described, and I conclude that the
we of the Murari bush is peculiar to Panchpadder. The salt manufac-
tured here is said to be of a superior quality, and is exported to Malwa,
Meywar, &c.
The whole operation of the manufacture is tedious and expensive ;
the price of the labour is high, from the unhealthy and disagreeable
nature of the work. A saltern costs in digging from one to two thou-
sand rupees, and only affords a return every third year, and each suc-
cessive supply from it is of an inferior description. Of the seven hun-
dred salterns, sixty or seventy might produce annually much more,
hut this supply satisfies the demand. Each yields on an average
about 3000 bullocks, or 8000 man of 40 sir, of the material. The sal-
terns become unfit for use after thirty or forty repetitions of the process a
Digiti
zed by G00gle
366 Salt Works at Panchp adder. [Jul*,
they are sometimes recovered by being allowed to lie waste for a few
years, and then spreading salt over the bottom of the pits ; but the crys-
tals in such cases are always small, and the salt is esteemed good or bad
according to their size. When a saltern is to be again used, after the
salt has been drawn from it, it is thoroughly cleared out. When the water
which springs up anew from the soil begins to gurgle and shew on
its surface an appearance as if rain were falling, it is time to throw ia
the Martri, which is carefully distributed in all places. Twenty cart
loads are sufficient for a saltern.
The cold season is most favourable for the process, but crystalliza-
tion goes on in the hot weather also, nor does the rain in any way
injure it, indeed, it is said to favour it, though no rain water is ad*
in it ted, but what falls from the clouds on the surface. The in-
feriority of a saltern is discovered by the quantity of water left on the
Surface after the period for taking out the salt has elapsed : when such
is the case, it is drawn off, and the salt removed.
In forming the salterns it is a custom to sink them some depth into
the consistent soil, for the first six feet is little else than sand, bat
the white effloresence over it, and all the earth which is removed, shews
that it is equally mixed with saline particles.
' These salt works are entirely worked by a tribe of people resident at
Panchpadder, of the Kherewdl caste ; and the Jodhpur Government does
not interfere, but to take its tax. At present, 1830, the Kherewdl are
engaged in sinking about 30 new salterns ; the salt of Panchpadder
having of late years deteriorated from want of better management.
The scarcity of fresh water in the vicinity of these works prevents a
greater quantity of salt being exported, for cattle cannot approach them
after the tank or rain water fails, about March ; and the inhabitants of
the surrounding villages are driven to rely on the Stint, from which this
necessary of life is brought in carts.
There is a temple of a goddess near these salt works, and to the
influence of this lady, the people entirely attribute the formation of the
salt and the original discovery of it. This has given Sam ra Dhti ,
(for that is her name,) much celebrity, as may be imagined, where, be-
sides the Kherewdls, upwards of a thousand labourers are kept in con-
stant employ.
The Chdrans, a religious sect who enjoy many immunities, are the
principal purchasers of the salt of Panchpadder. The article is sold by
bullock loads, and not by weight ; and it is amusing enough to see
the poor animals walking under a double load, that their masters may
double the Government, and escape a portion of the taxation ; for on
passing the Government toll at the town, they divide the salt into
smaller loads.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Asiatic Society. 367
IV. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, the 31st July, 1833.
The Hon*ble Sir Edward Ryan, President, in the Chair.
The Proceedings of the last Meeting were read.
Captain C. M. Wade, Political Agent at Ludiana, proposed at the last
Meeting, was elected a Member of the Society.
Dr. J. T. Pearson was elected Curator of the Society's Museum of
Natural History.
The Secretary submitted the Report of the Committee appointed on the
27th March, regarding the continuance of the Boring Experiment [see below]
which was read, and it was resolved, that the Society adopt the Report of the
Committee, and direct it be forwarded to Government, in reply to the com*
munication from Major Benson, Mil. Sec, &c.
The Secretary reported the completion of the second part of the 18th
volume of the Asiatic Researches, or Transactions of the Physical Class,
and submitted a bill from the Military Orphan Press, for Rupees 1962, being 1
the expence incurred in its publication.
Resolved, that the bill be discharged from the fund invested in Government
Securities, and that the usual distribution of copies be made.
Mr. A. Csoma db Koros' Manuscript Abstract of the Contents of the
Kajtoyub, and his comparative Index of Tibetan and Sanskrit Proper Names
and Titles, as arranged by the pandits and Tibetan lotsdvas (translators), when
compiling the sacred books of the Shaky a faith, in the Tibetan language,
having been brought again to the notice of the Society, it was resolved to re-
fer them to the Committee of papers, to determine on the expediency of
making them over to the Local Committee of Oriental Translation Fund,
with a recommendation for their early transmission to England for publica-
tion through that channel.
Library,
The following books were presented :
Journal Asiatique, Nos. 57, 59, 60, 61— By the As. Soc. of Paris.
The third series of J. Prinsep's Lithographic Illustrations of Benares — By ths
Author.
A Meteorological Register for the first six months of 1833, kept at Kyook
Phyoc— By Colonel W. H. Wood.
Calcutta Meteorological Register for June — By the Surveyor General.
The following, received from the Booksellers :
Lardoer's Cabinet Cyclopedia, Spain and Portugal, vol. 5.
Lardner' s Treatise on Heat.
Museum.
A note was read from M. S. Bramley, Esq. presenting for the Society's
Museum the following articles procured by him in NipaL
A Chinese map of the Celestial Empire.
A map of his imperial Majesty's Durbar.
* Nipalese musical instruments, curiously fashioned like snakes and dragons.
3 Horns called in Hindi " Bhorangr
Digiti
zed by G00gle
96$ Asiatic Society. [far,
1 Bass Horn of copper, called 8inghat (Beng. Bhmmk.)
3 Hautboys or San&U.
Some Saligram Stones.
Some brass and copper images. Dukga (Singh*babni) ; Loka-na'tba, with
four hands : and Goutama, or SaJtyasingh.
: Two cast leaden Shrines of Budhist images.
Two bells used in worship, Gkanii.
Model of a Budhist Temple, the Chatty a, or Dtva-p6ia%a.
Doctor Bramley's series of Nipalese Coins was also exhibited, and a paper
in illustration of them by the same gentleman was read.
A letter was read from Raja Kali Kishen Behadur, presenting a model of
a simple instrument on the principle of the steel yard used by the
for weighing, called a " toolah" with a description of its use.
A box was exhibited by the Secretary, containing twelve Roman
Coins, in fine preservation, procured from a friend by the late Mr. J a
Mackintosh at Buxar, and stated to have been found buried in Upper India.
The collection comprises coins of Domitianus, Gordianus, Gallienus, Saloni-
na his wife, Posthumus, Victorinus, Claudius Gothicus, Tacitus, Probus
Maximianus, Constantinus, and Theodoaius: the latest belonging to the
fourth century of the Christian era.
! 8ealing-wax and paper impressions were also exhibited of some of tat
most rare of Dr. Swiney's collection of coins.
Physical.
< Specimens of Coal, lately discovered in the Arracan district at Oaeadsa*
Synegkhyong, were presented in the name of Lieutenant W. Fourr, Sub-
Assistant Commissary General at Kyook Phyoo.
The specimens were necessarily small, having been transmitted by dak. las
seal of Oogadong appears of a fine quality, burning with much flame, and f«
a tolerable coke ; it contains veins and nodules of iron pyrites, of which i
were sent, as also of the shale in the vicinity of the coal beds.
The specific gravity of this coal was 1.259. An analysis of 20 grains gave—
Volatile matter, 38.0
. Carbon, 54.5
Whiteash 7.5
100.0
The Synegkhyong coal has a fine glossy lustre, resembling jet ; it is hard and
brittle : contains veins of a white earth (decomposed pyrites ?) — spec. grav. 1.MB-
8 grains gave on analysis,
Volatile matter 29.0
Carbon 67.0
Whiteash, 4.0
100.0
Lieutenant Foley states that these specimens are merely from the surface,
and that he did not possess the means of ascertaining the depth of the strata,
but the appearances of the crop were highly favorable. " The stratum in
which the coal of Oogadong was discovered was composed of—
Digitized by
Google
•W33.] ' Asiatic Society. 36*9
1 Bituminous shale.
2 Coal, with clay and pyrites.
3 Claystone.
Were this claystone bored through, another and richer vein would proba-
bly be found. The mineral appeared abundant in such places as were exca-
vated; the coal vein varying in thickness from six inches to a foot : the dip
very great, or at an angle of 70°."
Lieut F. imagines that tin and copper may be contained in the ores ; but
no signs of either metal were found in the specimens transmitted. Another
deposit of coal is mentioned at Kalabadong ; thus making four localities
(with that from Kingtellie, vide page 264), already discovered in that dis-
trict
The Secretary notified the safe arrival of the specimens of Rdntganj vege-
table impressions from Dr. H. Falconeb, Superintendent H. C. Bot. Gard.
Sebaranpur.
Accurate drawings have been made of these interesting reliques, in illustration of
a catalogue of them in preparation by Doctor Falconer.
The Society adjourned its next Meeting to the last Wednesday in the
month of October.
V.— Report of the Committee appointed on the 27th March, 1833, to con-
sider on the expediency of recommending to the Government the conti-
nuance of the Boring Experiment.
The questions submitted to our consideration are presented under the
four following heads :
1st The probability of ultimately finding a spring of fresh water,
and. The expediency of making any further attempt.
3rd. The mode of avoiding such accidents as have hitherto impeded the
descent of the boring instrument; and
4th. The estimated expence.
We will endeavour to pursue the subject in the same order in our present
report, referring for further detail to the annexed minutes of those of our
numbers whose practical acquaintance with engineering operations has en-
abled them in a great measure to guide our judgment
1. The principal experiments on record, connected with the operation of
boring for water in Calcutta, are those conducted under Colonel Gabstin,
Chief Engineer, from 1805 to 1890, and those recently made under the
superintendence of Dr. Strong, Mr. J. Kyd, and Mr. D. Ross, in 1829 to
1833. The following is a list of their localities and of the depths respec-
tively attained* :
♦ Tide Olbavings, L 114, or 167 ; iii. 124, 422, &c. also As. Res. 1814.
2 B
Digiti
zed by G00gle
370
Report on the Boring
[July,
Date. Superintendent. Place. Depth. Catue offaUmre.
1804, Dec. Col. Garstin, Well near Powder Mag. 75 ft.
119
55
59
80
127
94
124
127
140
136
130
70
70
No.
1
2 1805, Aug. ditto, S. W. of Artillery Barrack,
3 Sept. ditto, S. E. of Regimental Parade,
4 Oct. ditto, S. E. of European Barrack,
5 Nov. ditto, S. W. of Artillery Parade,
6 Dec. ditto, ditto
7 1806, Feb. ditto, ditto
8 Mar. ditto, ditto
9 Apl. ditto, same operation resumed,
10 1814, May, ditto, S. E. of Artillery Parade,
11 Nov. ditto, the same renewed,
12 1819, May, ditto, on Artillery Parade,
13 1820, Apl. ditto, ditto
14 May, ditto, Near triangular barrack,
15 1815, Mr. Jones found a spring in red sand at
16 1826-8, Dr. Strong, bored in the Circular Canal to
17 he also made several borings in the S. W. lake to 40
18 Dr. Strong near the Circular Road, 70
19 ditto atRasapugla, 70
20 1830, Strong, Ross, and Kyd, near the Fort church, 176
21 1832, ditto, near St. George's Gate, 164
22 1833, ditto, ditto, 170
23 1832, Dr. Strong, under the Lock Gates, Chitpore, 70
The geological question of the probability of finding a spring is by no m<
solved by the results of these numerous experiments. The knowledge which
they afford us of the nature of the Calcutta alluvium may be summed up in
very few words : — (See Plate XIII.)
After penetrating through the artificial soil of the surface, a light blue or
grey-coloured sandy clay occurs, becoming gradually darker, as we descend,
from impregnation with decayed vegetable matter, until it passes into a stra-
tum of black peat, about two feet in thickness, at a depth in Fort William, of 50
feet below the surface. In excavating the Circular Canal, the same stratum
of peat occurred at from 25 to 30 feet ; and in the Entallee Canal, it lay just
below the bed, or nine feet below the average level of the salt-water lake,
This peat stratum has all the appearance of having been formed by the
debris of Sundarban vegetation, once on the surface of the Delta, but gra-
dually lowered by the compression of the sandy strata below. Assuming
that the salt-water lake is five feet above the average height of the ocean,
the peat stratum is about as much more below the present level of the sea.
In the grey or black clay above, and immediately below, the peat, logs and
branches of a red* and of a yellow woodt are found imbedded, in a more
or less decayed state. In only one instance have bones have been met with,
(at 28 feet), and they appear from the report of the workmen to belong to
* The common Sandri of the Sandarbans.
f The root of some climbing tree, resembling the Briedelia. N. Waxuch.
auger broke.
ditto.
ditto.
ditto.
ditto.
ditto.
earth fell in.
auger broke.
suspended by rains
auger broke,
ditto.
122$ ditto.
128 earth fell in.
feet.
water rose,
thro' similar
hard kankar.
sand fell in.
shaft injured,
sand fell in.
auger broke,
water sprang up.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
'Afur jUr.&*c,
ret jr. fix /*
See/um cft/u Strata, of AiluAtum. cU> CcUctitta
T c
Feet.
Fort fVOliam,
1830 JS33
tirouJoA
CtmaJ.
1832
Hal */>fs/i ^MwUd 4tc
. 2a
3o
\~40
\~5b
^60
- 7o
. U
..yo
faa
r rjc
Light <fhstdy ( '/<?*/&
V**M oftMAre Sand
frcc&misty s/tjf\>r
and darker . <itut
c&nJuxtusuf tnuch
decayed wth>d.
MUuh Ctay
Feal St/rUa/n
filue (LzywdJv u>&od
■ s AustAas* nodules
Ye/tow C/ay
Wrf Sand, reddish
Yellow Ctaa
with jf earns of
J*otters Ctay ,
/(an hat
blue ctatf
una' sand
ye It on
cta-i/.
qreon Sandy ctay
Grey s<uid, ***i t
Of id Mi'Aout
tenacity ,
Seoonusiy
< marc coarse*
A the /ouwcS
oUptA remAed.
tjo ( t x uartt4/ Ja/td.
(jnui'ticr grave/
rB ToMut Id*
Cor* 1
y
/t i v*
u/ettf
0^
J'/^rin ,/,<
r i Si
. ..-. ■'.*
dk'Uffm of' iv i„\
ifrjee/
t f <>tUm t of tube*
f76\feU
/7<>Jrst
Digiti
J
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Experiment in Fort William. 371
deer, though they were unfortunately lost before examination. A stratum of
nod occurs generally above the peat clay at from 15 to 30 feet deep, from
which the wells in the town are chiefly supplied with brackish water.
Under the blue days at from 50 to 70 feet deep, the nodular limestone con.
cretions, known by the name of kankar, occur, sometimes in small grains (call-
ed bajri in Upper India) with the appearance of small land shells ; sometimes
in thin strata of great hardness, and sometimes in the usual nodular shape.
At 70 feet occurs a second seam of loose reddish sand, which yields water
plentifully. It was reached also in the perforation under the Lock Grates at
Chitpore, and there (as Mr. Jones had previously asserted from his own ex-
periment across the river), the supply was proved to be derived direct from
the river.
From 75 to 195 feet, beds of yellow day predominate, frequently stiff
and pure, like potter's clay, but generally mixed with sand and mica. Hori-
zontal seams of kankar also run through it, resembling exactly those of
Midnapur or of the Gangetic bason.
Below 128 feet a more sandy yellow clay prevails, which gradually changes
to a grey loose sand, extending to the lowest depth yet penetrated ; and be-
coming coarser in quality until at 170 — 176 feet, it may rather be termed
a quartzy gravel, containing angular fragments of quartz and felspar larger
than peas, such as are met with near the foot of a granitic range of hills.
This stratum has hitherto arrested the progress of the auger; the greatest
depth attained by Dr. Strong near St. Peter's Church being 176 feet.
The evidence of this gravel might tend to prove that the auger had here
penetrated through the bed of alluvium of the Gangetic delta ; while the sandy
texture of the undermost layers might be compared to the probable condi-
tion of the deposits under the now advanced head of the bay, not yet reach-
ed by the more easily suspended particles of clay, nor consolidated by vege-
table matter, like the tenacious black mud of the Sundarban creeks.
Nevertheless, we must be cautious in forming any such conclusions upon
slight premises, remembering that Colonel Garstin more than once, conclud-
ed from similar appearances that he had reached the rock at 130 feet. Be-
neath the quartzy sand may possibly occur another deep stratum of tenacious
day, and upon piercing every such stratum, and touching a seam of sand
under it, the chance offers of succeeding in the object of our search.
It is true that the horizontality of the delta alluvium, and its close
neighbourhood to the ocean, afford arguments against the probability of
finding an artesian spring upon the hypothesis of Hericart de Thury*, that
is, of basons and curved or sloping strata, — which is generally adopted as
affording the best explanation of the phenomena of such springs : but in
face of the successful borings in Holland, and in many other flat and alluvial
countries, nay even in insular situations, it would be hazardous even in a
* See Gleanings, iil 10.
2 b 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
879 Report on tie Bering [Juit,
geologist to predict want of success in Bengal, unless he was well
that the rocks under the alluvium were of the granitic or unstratmed
The depth yet attained is very trifling, and we all concur in thinking tint
the experiment should not be relinquished, until the ground has been pierced
at least to the depth of 500 feet. Borings in Europe seem seldom to hare
been undertaken upon purely scientific principles or expectations ;
they have started in direct opposition to them, and yet obstinate ]
has frequently been crowned with success : so may it be in India. While
4rawing up our report, we hear of the eminent good fortune which has
attended Lieut. Fulljame'b attempts in Guzerdt, at Akmedabad*, where wi.
ter rushed up with great force through the tubes to the astonishment of the
inexperienced in such matters. The soil of the plains in Guxerdt is so
sandy and unretentive of moisture, that most of the wells have a depth
exceeding 100 feet. But we have not sufficient knowledge of the country
to draw any deductions applicable to our own position in Bengal.
9. In reply then to the second query, we are of opinion that it is by all
means expedient to continue the boring, and were the Society in a condition
to afford the funds necessary, we should be sorry to see the honor of its
superintendence transferred to other hands.
3. The accidents which have hitherto impeded the progress of the eager
below 175 feet, are entirely attributable to the falling in of the lower sandy
stratum, an increasing difficulty against which no sufficient remedy has bees
provided. All perseverance in boring, as long as this impediment exists, sr
is not counteracted, has been, and will be, an absolute throwing away of
money and time.
The remedy always adopted in such cases of bad soil at home consists in
lining the perforated hole with copper or cast iron tubes well united with
spigot and faucet joints.
It is therefore indispensable that these articles be provided before the
boring can proceed or be renewed. The tubes may either be supplied from
England, or now that the casting of iron is practised in India, they may he
made here : the expence however in the latter case is estimated by one of
our members at full double the English cost, and there is a chance of failure
in the texture of the metal from the want of raw material to fuse with the
fragments of old cast iron of which the fount usually consists in India. It
seems therefore preferable to commission the tubes at once from Englandt,
giving the manufacturers every information regarding the nature of the
soil and the depth, that they may adapt the most convenient lengths to
the tubes of the different grades and sizes. At the same time, any new took
or apparatus for facilitating the operation may be commissioned out
* The boring was commenced at the bottom of an abandoned well.
+ We understand that a large supply of cast-iron tubes and boring rods was broagftt
out for Madras by the H. C. S. Buckinghamshire this season.— Ed.
Digitized by
Google
1833J Experiment in Fort William. 373
These 10 no reason, however, why trials should not he made meanwhile at
the Government foundery, to model and cast some of the tubes, as, if success-
ful, there would he ample employment for them in various parts of India.
Much of the delay experienced in the latter borings has been attributed to
the shortness of the jointed rods, and the necessity of unscrewing them bo
often. It has occupied, on an average, five hours to lift 170 feet of rod, and
the daily progress at that depth has consequently been seldom more than a
foot : although a gradual improvement has taken place with the growing
experience of the workmen. Thus to bore the first shaft of 175 feet, con*
Burned two years : the second of 164 feet was completed in one year, and
the third, of 170 feet, in less than six months. Colonel Garstin's operations
seem to have been much more rapid, but the time, it must be remembered,
augments in a geometrical ratio with the depth. That officer had, further, a
more efficient establishment at his command.
A new set of stronger and longer boring rods might facilitate operations,
hot these and all such other details may safely be left to the discretion of art
experienced Superintendent, such as Serjeant Reid, whose ingenuity will
supply expedients as accidents may occur to necessitate them.
Should the Government undertake the experiment, it may perhaps be
deemed of sufficient importance by the Honorable the Court of Directors, to
tend out engineers especially versant in the art of boring the earth. At any
rate we venture to suggest the advantage of having all men, intended for
their Sspper and Miner service, instructed in the practical part of the opera-
tion as a part of their professional education at Chatham.
With all these precautions, we do not anticipate the recurrence of any
farther insurmountable impediments to the auger, until it may reach the
actual rock.
4. With regard to the expence of a new experiment, we have been in-
formed that six hundred feet of tube may be provided for less than £150.
The Society has expended on three protracted operations, including the cost
of wrought iron tubes, Sec about Rupees 3,000. We cannot therefore esti-
mate that one steady experiment, tubes included, will cost so much as these
three unsuccessful attempts. And in the hands of a Government, which has
the power of deputing its own officers and men to conduct the work on duty,
aothing beyond the small contingencies for repairs of rods, wear and tear of
ropes, && can properly be set down to the charge of the experiment.
Should nothing further be elicited after penetrating 500 feet, or even " to
the rock," than the knowledge, that a spring of fresh water is not thus pro-
curable, it will in our opinion be knowledge cheaply bought ; and although
geological research is not to be put on a par with the direct and political
object of providing wholesome water to the garrison of Fort William, still
an acquaintance with the depth, variety, and nature of the alluvial deposits,
which separate us from the rocky crust of the globe, and of the coincidence
of the subjacent strata with some of the rocks which have been developed to
our view above ground, by geological or physical causes, cannot but prove
Digiti
zed by G00gle
374 Miscellaneous. [JVlt,
interesting to the Government, to the scientific world, and to mankind in
generaL
(Signed,) W. H. Mill, D. D. V. P.
W. N. Forbes, Capt. Engineers.
J. M. Seppinos.
J. Langstafp.
Asiatic Society's Apartments, J. N. Casanova, M. D.
2Qih July, ldS3. N. Wallich, M. D.
VI . — Miscellaneous.
'Remarks on Hutton's Mathematics.
To the Editor of the Asiatic JounuL
Sib,
I observe occasional strictures on mathematical and physical works in the mis-
cellaneous department of the Journal : I am therefore induced to send you the fol-
lowing observations on some passages in Dr. Hutton's Course, which if not incon-
sistent with your plan you may perhaps find a place for.
The first subject of remark is the Doctor's method of treating the hyperbola in
his conic sections*. Here he appears to have made it too much his object to point
out the strong analogy which subsists between it and the ellipse, which is indeed
both striking and interesting ; but in keeping to this one point he has sometimes
gone too much on the general idea, and has not attended sufficiently to the specific
properties of the curve in question, giving his demonstrations in the same words for
both these sections of the cone, in one or two instances, where the correspondence
was scarcely close enough to admit of this method of procedure.
To come to particulars. In Prop. I. the squares of the ordinates are proved to be to
each other as the rectangles of the abscisses, but only be it observed in regard to the
pr imary curve. In Prop. II. Dr. H. comes to shew that the square of the transverse
is to the square of the conjugate as the rectangle of the abscisses to the square of
their ordinate ; but his first step consists in assuming the semi -conjugate to be an
ordinate to the curve. Now this I contend is premature, for of the conjugate hyper-
bola nothing has yet been said, but that it exists, and this in the definitions only.
The difficulty might perhaps have been evaded by adding after Prop. I. something
similar to the following : Scholium." The above proposition, as the reader will
observe, is identical with Prop. I. of the ellipse, but the analogy between the
curves is yet closer than these corresponding properties of the abscisses and ordi-
nates would at first sight suggest ; for if, as in the ellipse, the square of the axis
A B is made to the square of another line passing through the bisecting point at
right angles to A B, and bisected by A B, as the rectangle under the abscisses of
an ordinate to the square of that ordinate, it will be a conjugate axis to A B corre-
sponding to the conjugate axis of the ellipse, through which conjugate corves
passing complete a conformity between these two sections of the cone, which is
very close and remarkable."
From Prop. II. all goes on with apparent smoothness till Theor. X, where in
proving that the parallelograms inscribed between four conjugate hyperbolas
* See on this head {£,'8 paper in Gleanings, iii. p. 161, 213.— Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1333.3 Miscellaneous. J75
ire equal to each other, and to the rectangle of the two axes, it is assum-
ed that in Prop. VII. it had been shewn, that if a tangent and ordinate be
drawn from any point in the curve meeting the transverse axis, the semi-transverse
will be a mean proportional between the distances of the said intersection from the
centre, whether the curve be the one cutting the said transverse or its conjugate,
whereas it has only been shewn in the former case. There is to be sure no great
difficulty attending the demonstration of the latter case, when the former is given ;
hot still it is an obstacle every reader will not take the trouble to master, nor
perhaps every teacher be at the pains to make his pupil overcome.
I will only add one other remark at present, and that on a subject closely con-
nected with what precedes. In the demonstration of the problem of the trisection
of an arc, vol. III. p. 217 a step has been omitted. It follows from Cor. Theor. 2
that in the equilateral hyperbola the rectangle of the abscisses is equal to the
square of the ordinate, and after* short deduction by Theor. 18 " to K'KI=z:AK *.' '
the last reference has not been given.
Tirhoot, 19/* Jim*. L. D.
2.— The Royal Society.
The annual address of the Duke of Sussex to the Royal Society* evinces a real
desire on the part of the Royal President to identify himself in its interests, and
to awaken a new and reforming spirit in this veteran establishment, which has of
late years exhibited rather more indulgence in the election of its members, and
the selection of its papers for publication, than was consistent with the dignity of
h haute science. The council it seems have taken the hint of Mr. Babbaob to
submit every paper to a Committee previous even to its being read. We have
before remarkedf, that the custom of the Academies of Science and Medicine at
Paris, of requiring such written reports, has produced a collection of essays on
all subjects in general more valuable than the original communications upon
which they are founded, because the persons who are selected as Committee men
are " veterans in their respective sciences, who have earned by their labours an
European reputation." The class of savane however to which these duties are
entrusted in Paris is nearly wanting in England, where the Members are not
supported by Government pensions, and there are few private professorships in
which the othan of dignified retirement can be devoted to such objects ; while
for the rich amateur or the laborious practitioner the task would be alike unwel-
come and unsuitable. The President however is satisfied that qualified men will
be found ready to sacrifice both time and labour, out of their sympathy for the
scientific honour of their country. We hope to find these expectations realized in
respect to the Royal Society ; and we would suggest that the plan of reports on
papers should be introduced in our own society : the reports will be more useful
here to shew upon what studies our members are engaged, because so long an
interval generally ensues before their original papers are doomed to see the light.
The obituary catalogue of the past year is heavily charged. Sir Evebabo Homb,
the author of 107 papers on comparative anatomy in the Transactions ; Sir Jambs
HALL,the experimental supporter of submarine volcanic agency; Gboombridge, the
* Printed in the PhiL Mag. Feb. 1833.
f Vol. i. p. 367.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
376 -MkaUmum. IItot.
astronomer ; Lrsur, the chemist (not a F. R. S.)* i of foreign members, the gnat
Cuvian ; Chapta* ; the Baron de Zach, and B. Objani, astronomers ; Ant.
Scarpa, the anatomist, have aU bequeathed their illustrious names to science.
Sir Jamm Mackintosh and Colonel Mam Wilks, we may in tome measure lay
claim to ; the former was for eight year* Recorder of Bombay, the Utter is known
for his Researches on the History of Mysore : let our readers reflect upon tan
advantages which the Pjiesjldbnt supposes them to possess from their India*
training.
" Colonel Wilis must be considered as one of those distinguished men who haw*
been formed by the system of our Indian Empire. The possession of great com-
mands, upon which the happiness and misery of considerable nations are depend-
ent, and the intense feeling of responsibility, which is connected with the adast-
jiistration of trusts so important, is well calculated, under all circ umst a nc es, to
call forth into action the highest powers of the human mind * and particularly
so, when they have been previously exercised and fortified, as in our Indian service,
by the severe study of oriental languages, and by the successive occupation of dif-
ferent offices, with a great diversity of duties : it is to such causes that we are to
attribute the frequent union which we observe in Ibis service of the greatest crril
and military talents with the most profound acquisitions in oriental learning ; it
is to this system that we are indebted for the production of a Duncan and aMcs-
no, an Elphinstonr and a Rafflbs, a Colbbrookb and a Malcolm, and a
crowd of great men who have done so much honour to our Indian Government."
At the conclusion of his address, the President alludes to the precarious poatios
of Captain Ross and his companions. It is more than three years since he started
on his forlorn expediton, to retrieve the glory which he considered had been
shorn from him by the greater success of others in the exploration of the Polar Sea ;
and no tidings have been yet received of him. A vessel is now preparing, under
the auspices of the Geographical Society, to pursue the supposed track of the
party, and if possible relieve the anxiety of their friends and relations with
some certain intelligence of their fate.
3.— Discovery of a Bed of Fossil (Marine f) Shells on the Tahle Lemdef Gmfre/
India.
A circumstance which must prove highly interesting to all lovers of geology, has
lately been brought to light by the discovery of a bed of fossil shells (marine ?)
in a good state of preservation. Accident, as usual, in discoveries of this kind, led
to their detection. A well had been sunk some 14 years ago by a native, half
a mile distant from Saugor, beside the road leading to Jubbulpore, and with the
stones turned out of it, he erected a small hut for his workmen, little dreaming at
the time he was piling Up such geological treasures. A man the other day, seeing
something unusual in a lump of the limestone of which the hnt was built, dragged
it out, and took it to his master, Mr. Fraser, who immediately recognized it as being
a shell. So interesting a fact could not be lost sight of, and means were immedi-
ately taken to follow up the discovery. On searching the walls of the dwelling,
several other stones equally rich in shells were detected, and the owner of the
* Professor Barry, Lecturer at Guv's, fell a ?ictim to the imprudent pursuit of his
chemical inquiries, from the explosion of some gases in a highly co n d e ns ed state, spoa
which he was experimenting.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
.1833.] Miscellaneous. S77
ground being questioned ; stated, they came out of the well about half way down ;
bit ocular proof was not to be obtained, from the sides of the well being stoned
np with large blocks of sandstone. To allow a point of so much interest to remain
in doubt would hare been highly culpable, and Dr. Spry immediately set about
sinking a shaft parallel to the well, that the locale might be effectually set at rest.
After sinking through basalt, both soft and hard, he came, I understand, upon
• bed of soft fatty red soil, containing nodules of lime, and presently reached the
sniioasly sought limestone bed, from which he had the satisfaction of disentomb-
ing some rich specimens of shells. The bed is formed exactly 17 feet below the
present surface. The shells are univalved of different sizes — some nearly as long
as the hand, and all of them are what is termed reversed shells*. I understand,
however, he is proposing to send an account of them to the Asiatic Society, and
I shall not therefore venture to do more than announce the discovery to you.—
Uqfmtul Ukhbar.
4. — Indian Zoology.
Extracts from the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, April 10, 1832.
Mr. Gray enumerated the following species of the genus Paradoxurus, all of them
as far as their habitat has been ascertained, natives of India and the Indian Islands*
1. Paradoxurus Typus. F. Cuv., Mamm. Lith.
Genette de France. Buff., Hiet. Nat. SuppL iii. t. 47.
Vhrerra nigra. Detm., Mamm. p. 208.
This species appears to be the Musk and Musky Weasel of Pennant's Quadrupeds,
both taken from Sir Elijah Impby's drawings, but not the Piloselle Weasel of the
same author, which has hairy soles. There is a variety now living in the Gardens
of the Society, which may be called fuliginosus, it being nearly black in conse-
quence of the length and number of the black hairs, which only show the fulvous
under-fur between their roots. It has a very distinct pale spot above, and another be-
neath, the eye.
The three following species are only known by the drawings of Dr. Hamilton and
Gen. Habdwicm, the former of which were liberally lent to Mr. Gray by Dr.
Wilkins and Dr. Hobsfibld, in order to enable him to determine by actual com-
parison the species described from them by M. de Blainvillb. The first two
appear to agree with Par. Typus in having nearly naked ears, and may possibly
be the only varieties of that species; the third approaches more nearly to Par*
Muangas.
2. Pabadoxubus Pbnnantii. Par. pallida cmerascenti-brunneus f /asciis ob-
scuris saturalioribus lateralibus / auriculisnmdiusculis; orbitis albidiss
ariubus caudaque dimidio apicali nigrescentibus.
This animal is stated by Gen. Hardwicke, from whose drawings the character is
taken, to be found in the upper provinces of Bengal, and to be very destructive to
poultry and game. Its head and body measure 21, its tail 23,— making a total
length of 44 inches. The ears and sides of the nose are pale flesh-coloured.
* The same curious fact is observable in the silicmed fossil shells lately presented by
Br. Sptlsbury to the Asiatic Society.— Ed.
2 C
Digiti
zed by G00gle
3J8 Miscellaneous. [J***,
Ichneumon Bonder. Ham,, MS 8.
3. Paradoxurut Bandar.
Viverra Bonder. Blow*., in Detm. Mamm. p. 210.
This species inhabit* Bengal, where it is called the Mush- Cat. Iu head and
body measure 25, its tail 24,— making a total length of 49 inches. Dr, Hamilton's
reduced $gure,> from which this animal was described by M*d»BiAumu.B, agrees
with Gen. Hardwicx»'s drawing in almost every particular, except that in the
former the nose is rather sharper, and the tail not quite so bushy as in the latte*.
4. Paradoxurut prehensiUt.
Ichneumon prehensilis. Ham., MSS.
Viverra prehensilis. Blanv. in Detm. Mamm. p. 208.
This species is only known from Dr. Hamilton's drawing ; it appears distinct
from any of the others, more especially in the bands of the sides of the back being
formed of oblong nearly confluent spots, and in the length of the tail, which has a
long white tip. The central dorsal streak is not very distinctly marked, and the
dark line in the drawing may perhaps be intended for the shadow.
5. Paradoxurut Musanga.
Viverra Musanga. Horsf., Zool. Bet. t, 5.
Viverra fasciata. Desm., Mamm. p. 209 ?
The very young animal is pale ash-coloured, with three distinct black dorsal
bands, and the sides spotted. Its fur is very close and soft, mixed with scattered
very rigid rather longer black hairs.
6. Paradoxukus dubius* Par. pallid* Jlavetcenti-cmereu*, pilis dorsi lougior-
ibu$ apice brwmeit, tubiut JUwetcenti-albidut ; dom fatctit centrakbms tribut,
lateributque macuUt brunneis mconspicuis ; eapite, auriculis pilosis, pedibusque
eastaneis; caudd prater imam bom uegro-brunned : macula: utrmque adnasum,
alterius supra genat, fatcioique interauricularit transversa pilis albo-apieulati*
This species is described from a young specimen sent to the British Museum by
Dr. Horsfield : it may be only a variety of Par. Musanga, but cannot be the general
state of the young of that species, which is described above. It is probably the
Javanese variety of the Mutang described and figured by Dr. Horsfield.
7. Paradoxurut hermaphrodUus.
Viverra hermaphrodite, Pallas, m Sckreb. Sdugtk. p. 426Y
The description of the glandular fold between the antes and penis proves' this
specie*, which is only known by Palles's description, to be a Paradox*™** It
appears to resemble the preceding, but differs in having the entire throat black,
and in its black dorsal bands.
8. Paaadoxvrits Pallasii. Par. nigretcentugriteut, nigro alboque intermix-
tut, in/rd palUdior ; dom fascid latiusculd maculisque pan/is utrmque Assert-
alibut nigris ; artubut, lateribue mferni, cauddque nigrescentibus ; facie mart
maeuld utrmque ad nasum, alterd tub oculos f fascidque transversd per JrmUem
. pone genat ad gulam usque ductd, albit ; auriculit nudiusculis ; gnld amticd,
nigr es centi-cmered, pottice cmereo-albidd ; caudd corpore longiore.
Par. elbifrons. List in Report of Council Zool. Soc. 1831, haudF.m^ Mem.
Mut. ix.
» This species is described from a living specimen in the Gardens o$ the Society
brought from India, and presented by Mr. Buchanan.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1683.] ' Miscellaneous. 379
9. Paradoxttrub Crossii. Par. supra, nigrescent, jrilis pTumbeis nigro-apicu-
latis, vtfrh fiavescens, pilis albo-apiculatis ; auriculis apice nudiusculis; facie
auriculis extend ad basin, pedibus, caneUeque dodrante apicali nigro-brunneis ;
matutd rotundd palidd ad nasum utrinque, alterdque minore sub oculos ; front 9
The length of the bead and body is 21 inches, of the nose to the front of the
car 34, of the tail 16, of the fore-foot to the elbow-joint 4§, and the distance from
the back of the fore-foot to the front of the hind-, 8 inches. The species is de-
scribed from a specimen lately living in the Surrey Zoological Gardens, and since
presented by Mr. Cross to the British Museum, where both the skin and skeleton
are preserved.
10. Paradoxurus leucopus. Ogilby, in Zool. Journ. iv. p. 304.
11. Paraooxurus Hamiltonii. Par. auriculis pilosis ; dorso griseucineraseente-
pilis uigro-apiculatis intermixtis, seriebus sex vel $eptem macular*** rotunda-
rum nigrarum ; facie dor$o concolore, 8 trig d angustd nigrd inter, alterdque utrin-
que suprh, oculot ;fa$ci& nuchali medid nigrd, laterali utrinque breviore pallid-
bnamed ; pedibus dorso concoloribus ; eaudd corpore sesquilongiore, rufescenti 9
brunned, anhuHt angustis subaiquaUbus nigris versus apicem remotioribus.
This species is described from a living specimen in the Surrey Zoological Gar-
teal, which has been in Mr. Cross's possession about two years.
12* Paradoxurus larvatus.
Onto larvatus. Ham. Smith, in Griff. An, Kingd., ii. p. 281.
Viverra larvata. Gray, Spic. Zool. p. 9.
Psguma larvata. . Gray, Proe. Comrn. Zool. 8oe. i. p. 96.
13. Paradoxurus tri viroatus. Par. nigrescentugriseus, infra, griseus ; ca-
pite saturatwre t doreo fasciis tribus longitudinalibus medHs nigrescentibus f
pedibus eauddque corpore longiore nigrie ;fascie hnmaculatd.
Viverra trivirgata. Reinw., Mue. Leyd.
This species is described from a specimen, in the Leyden Museum, sent from the
Moluccas. The teeth agree with those of the genus in every particular, except
that the cheek-teeth are rather shorter.
14. Paradoxurus? binotatus.
Viverra binotata. Reinw., Gray, Spic. Zool. p. 9.
Mr. Gray referred this animal to the genus Paradoxurus with some doubt, he not
having seen the teeth. Its walk, however, is truly plantigrade. The habitat of
Ashantee, given to it in the Leyden Museum, may be questioned : it was obtained
from an old Dutch collection, in which it is possible that the localities were not
strictly preserved.
To this enumeration Mr. Gray added the indication of an animal known only by
a rough sketch brought by Mr. Finlayson from Siam, and deposited in the Library
of the East India Company. This he proposed to call Paradoxurus Finlaysonu,
and described as being pale-brown ; with a band across the middle of the muzzle,
tad another across the orbits (including the eyes, and expanding on the back of
the cheek), the ears, and three continuous narrow lines along the middle of the
hack, blackish brown ; the feet blackish ; and the tail cylindrical. He also consi-
dered it probable that the Civet te de Malacca of Sonnerat, Voy. t. 91, the Viverra
MaUccensis of Gmelin belonged to this genus, with which it agreed in several
particulars of its mode of colouring, although it differed in having a black
Digiti
zed by G00gle
*60 Analysis of Books. [Jwfc
streak along- the middle line of its belly , a character confineA to few among tie
Mammalia,
With respect to the Parados*™* aureus of M. F. Carter, fee stated that be wit
inclined to believe that it really belonged to the genus on account of its naked
soles, but was certainly not, as had been imagined, the young of Par. Tppms.
, Mr. Gray added, that figures of the Purr. Pennantu, Bonder, prehensiU** Pat-
test, and HamiltonU, are engraved for the forthcoming No. of the ' lUna trat ioo s of
Indian Zoology.'
VII. — Analysis of Books.
Meruit of Astronomical Observations made at the Hon'ble the Bast India Compaq*
Observatory at Madras. By Thomas Granville Taylor, Esq. Astronomer to the
Hon'ble Company. Vol. I. for 1831.
The Madras Observatory has long since established its character, as well for
laborious diligence in the proper duties of its professional calling, as for other
collateral researches which naturally fall into the bands of a scientific astronomer.
Under Mr. Goldingham's superintendence four ponderous foolscap tomes of
astronomical observations were given to the public, and one volume of " Papers "
containing miscellaneous matter of great interest.
From the imperfection of the instruments then attached to the establishment,
(a 20-inch transit instrument, a 12-inch altitude instrument, and a zenith sector,)
the astronomical results were not of a class to satisfy expectations in the present
advanced state of that science. In other investigations Mr. Goldingham's aaae
will be long quoted as of paramount authority. His pendulum experiments at
Madras, and on the equator, are of the highest value : his determination of the
velocity of sound under different pressures, temperatures, and directions of the
wind, from a very long series of experiments, is most conclusive and satisfactory :
and his meteorological series for 21 years, although unfortunate in the boors
selected for the Barometer, contains abundant means of fixing the curves of tem-
perature and pressure for the latitude of Madras.
But the present volume (printed also in a better form and type), is the coav
meucement of a new and purely astronomical series. We may date the regene-
ration of the Madras establishment from the year 1830, when a 5- feet transit
instrument, a 4 -feet mural circle, and a 5 -feet telescope equatorially mounted,
which had sometime previously arrived from England, all made expressly 4m
the observatory, were set up for use upon a solid aud insulated basement of
masonry, 45 feet long and 12 feet broad, tapering to 6 at top, and 7 feet high.
With every particular of the adjustment of the new instruments, Mr. Tatlok
makes us fully acquainted : the setting up and the error of the meridian mark : the
errors of level, of collimation, of azimuth, and of the clock, for every day of the
year ; and the formula applied in each case for the necessary corrections. Mr.
Taylor is so far of the French school that he prefers computing the corrections doe
to each observation rather than attempting to avoid them by continual adjustment
of the screws of his instruments, and in this practical maxim we concur with him
from experience ; the more immovable the standing parts of an instrument remain,
the more consistent and even will the observations be found.
Digitized by
Google
1833,] Analysis of Books. 38*
The results of oar astronomer's labour are not only most creditable to himself,
bat they prove how much may be effected by steady, well-instructed Dative assistants;
for during the six months of Mr. Taylor's deputation to Calcutta, to assist in
measuring the Barrackpur Base, for the great Trigonometrical Survey, the font
pandits attached to the observatory bad entire possession of the transit, the mural,
sad the Satellite telescope, and very few cases occur in which these is room to note
" mtaceatmtmMe," against an entry in the register : at first only some malicious
intruder was constantly giving annoyance by breaking the cross wires of the transit,
as if to try the patience of the new master.
In all computations of results, the observatory itself is made to furnish the data ;
this also is a proper rule, for the climate, temperature, or clearness of the air have
influences on refraction, and irradiation, which should not be trusted to estimated
values. Thus, our author finds the mean diameter of the sun 16* 0"15, differing-
(how much ?) from European determinations. The effects of irradiation are
closely connected with the sensibility of the eye. Differences of six or eight seconds
will occur with different observers, and, Mr. Taylor says, it is no difficult matter
in Dr. Maskilyns's catalogues to discover when a new assistant came, from
this circumstance.
Following the tables of the sun's diameter, we have a very full table of R. A. and
N. P. D. of the sun, with the errors of the Tables computed for each observation,
and from these the deduced obliquity of the ecliptic for 1st January 1831 is found
From observations near the summer solstice = 23° 27' 40*' 41.
From do winter solstice = 23° 27' 38"' 98.
or after correcting Goldingham's latitude of the observatory, by — 0"* 71,
The mean obliquity = 23 J 27' 39"*7 : in the Naut. Aim. it is 23° 27' 42"* 1.
Bat we have not space to enter into detail, and must confine ourselves to the
heads of Mr. Taylor's results.
A table of the deduced error of the equinoctial points follows : and then we
hare the A. R. and N. P. D. of the several planets, including the Georgium Sid us.
Towards the determination of the longitude, we have 84 comparisons of observed
R.A. and N. P. D. of the moon, with her interpolated place from the Nautical
Almanac ; one lunar eclipse ; and 21 eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites.
Mr. Taylor here also notices the different effects of irradiation upon different
observers, which cause the semi-diameter of the moon to appear variable in its
value, and necessitate an equal series of observations on both limbs to find the true
psmgrn of the moon's centre*.
No attempt is made to deduce the longitude from the lunar transits, because
sufficient dependence cannot be placed on the lunar tables. The observations are
however all compared with the interpolated place of the moon, from the Nautical
Almanac, and the errors of the tables set forth : they vary from + 15 to — 17
seconds in time.
The mean of the 1st and 2nd Satellite observations gives the longitude from Green*
wkh, 5 hours, 21 minutes, 5.4 seconds, differing about a mile from Mr. Golding-
ham's determination. Out of 51 observations of stars culminating with the moon, ■
* In a series of lunar transits observed at Benares, with an 18-inch instrument,
there was always a difference between the observed and calculated times of the
moon's diameter passing the meridian, of nearly a second in time.— Ori**/. Mag. vii,
j>.», App.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
<$89 Analyst* of Btok*. [JwJr.
(not eft*imiii«/*V her, as the Printer's deril his made it,) at Madras, five are
provided with corresponding sights at the Greenwich observatory, and six with
the same at the Cambridge observatory. From these the Madras longitude coem
out 5 hours, 21 minutes, 37 seconds.
For the latitude we have 160 observations N. P. D. of selected stars with the
mural circle by direct etffew, and 171 by re/Uetum from a trough «/ mercury / the
extreme difference amounts to 6", and the latitude deduced from the whole n
13% 4 * yt. 2 \ n.
The comet of January, 1831, was followed as accurately as the extreme nuntneai
of the object would admit, from the 7th January to the 20th February : its positioa
was as follows :
Jan. 8. Comet's A. R. 17 29 27 N. P. D. 102» 34' 10"
p e b. 20. do. 12 38 49.9 79 23 52.6
The last fifty pages (one third of the volume) are occupied by a valuable sad
important table of the places of the fixed stars, with reduction of the Madras cata-
logue to the 1st January, 1831, and the differences of each star in A.R*and N. P. D.
from the Greenwich and the Astronomical Society's Catalogues.
" Of 423 comparisons of right ascension, between the Madras and Greenwich ca-
talogues, there are 376 cases in which the difference does not amount to two-tenthi
of a second in time ; of the remaining 46, there are 34 within three-tenths of a se-
cond ; these have been carefully re-examined and found to be affected with a mock
less probable error than this amount ; of the 12 cases which exceed seconds 0.3, three
are confirmed by the Astron. Society's catalogue, and four only require further et-
amination." This evidence speaks highly of the value of the Madraa results, and
they are not diminished by the larger proportion of discrepancies with the extended
catalogue of the Astronomical Society, in which many stars hare been brought
forward from the less perfect tables of 1755 and 1800. " Out of 863 comparisons
which this catalogue affords, there are 615 which do not exceed half a second;
of the remainder many are confirmed by the Greenwich catalogue, or by subse-
quent observations at Madras in 1832."
In north polar distance the same accuracy prevails : out of 489 comparisons
with Greenwich, 197 differ less than 1"'5 j 122 less than 2"'5 ; and 115 less than
4"'0 : and out of 1114 comparisons with the Astronomical Society's catalogue,
693 come within 4" ; 315 between 4'' and 8" ; and 105 exceed 8".
In a few years, therefore, we may confidently expect the " Madras Catalogue of
fixed Stars" to be appealed to as authority equivalent to that of either Gtees-
Wicb or Berlin. In the name of every lover of the sublime science in this coca-
try, we would strongly recommend Mr. Taylor to publish annually, in advance
(and we offer him our columns for the purpose), a short and authentic ephesMfh
of the principal celestial occurrences, to be attended to by astronomers in India,
such as occultations of stars by the moon ; Jupiter's Satellites ; oppositions of
the planets ; transits and eclipses, &c These should all be calculated for the
meridian of Madras, to which as the nearest point of corresponding and nearly
simultaneous observation, our observation should be referred. Meantime every
Indian astronomer should provide himself with the volume before us, as containing
besides the catalogues of stars, a variety of useful and practical formula for
the correction and reduction of observations.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1JB33.]
Meteorological Table heft at Bancoora.
38*
&
<2
$■5 •
J?*- ;
o ff 9 o beg
n -<g .0 * c 5>
"" Is gill
tJ« £ ■ « a
o 5 J I » « t-5
— 3 _c-tiS_a u *• •>■©
go >/be t ~ .Id^.S
>*.fl Q*8«I IP r
"5 hr *« ■§ c 3 a a, is
* '= % w r ' » *•£ °
* C^B fi 2% £ 1>— I ** £i
^ j 2
be
•I
be
e
*3
■3
O 4>
,1 3
*2 © go I
M S3
> c s
• •*
SSI *j .a = a •
ja © e * "3 as « o«
* — -fl to o C <•« .
w ^ ? as »*© ,© . « «
] M ■ i^J *1 fife
* . . aj **"
^»^; s --^ w 2 5 a> 9
as os'J" - ) 1 « a> S~JX c
>* — M CO
■>
S:' fefrf. ^ c ^ ^
fc zz
sis I I I I I S I ||
. CN
SO C» •* OQO
— o" io ^f^"
is**
s
:ss
Sl S
I I ^
II 1 !'
Sf3S 3 3 f| | | I I
8 s
3
ia
*£ 8 3 h 3 3 S S R3
S « H3 fc*
r *'«S
a
I 1
1
o
•
?i
R
liii
2
l>* CC • **
■a : •»
J : . ■: ;
>\ * := :
I
Digiti
zed by G00gle
384
Meteorological Register.
[July, 1833.]
St
*1
Si
=
§<
-*
•a
•9(ItU9A3
•aooK
•3 in mo ft
*^UtU3A3
•D<K»M
■gimuaft
■SMtUl]
|i^l^^!J||i|!||j^|i||!W
re
.•:£ fifes . * -5*8
S.S S' c ^ !; o c ^ 8 o c o oi o o o S o o o ¥ g £ 5' b
5-c-c
frf * 6 e d 6 «« *5 * J • « j * d«x« riW^WWxcc Jd"
ce^fcd jd*^dcdrid6d«dd«^gw*uxdd jo
© eec © ©oooo <n — e«c? ©ccc
g3gaag88383SMS33&$tt8M33M3MIS
i]
-lis
igf
IK
a p?
-M'<ouv
ssssasssssssssrssasjjj-sas&aaaaaaas
if*
3w
-itsfiMi.'i'M — i^» c miN; c^pj-* t -'5 , *cx>'>e , !c»at6»o«0'*tt
n«-«-rs'*-»>T«c«c*c
x c «-^ r^c c? n ^ti ^ c x *> « c »3 «*o "J'** | * ~ a
— •!
. g if<N«3;f XifiC-CNOtO- Wft«»ftSrtCSC OS « X «D — Ol W *» *»
" * tf i V rf «cVI orw — ?I si ro ^" »J ~ cC c ~ «* c « « ~ in e* H « ~ « o* ~ « o» o<
n t^.x «: c c '-j x — c c <>« x ©» «o — x w c c i^*s c ~ :i — 1»-«| »> © * "%
c<n«2 »s — n«««!-fK i^.<n -r ss x x r-.<j x »q *s »a x '■: c x-r-o
* v Sasa65*e8sas*&&e^SB<Ssa'fea868aswai
!*CNfi , c , ct r^c c <; c -* c *n c r ;Kxc-xn = ^!Mx;«
8"a8"S8*asa"jfa"aaa*68*aa"a8"aJssa"aasstajw
I
3*1
uin itiiui iv
isss^s^isissssSSSaMSfis "
CCS rt^N «»N C | W , -
gs
5S888§ft825siS8 ft 53£*S? £ §5*§-*
«a ;* .- B d o ■*; o « * » » "J -r * «5 «s *% -* ^«o fi <Q »o S5 4.-^ »i «5 -* •» *»_ o I jg "• ^
55
•„ * my | Slf §3 8|t85S8q§S||^5i^.^8^ll^^ | i ;
■WTfUV
*qiuooi
IHttHtftlHlttHttlHtRWltl!
i
|5||§5||S|5||38|t?ISp.|||i8.8^3;
« Ol PS V «fi tt »^.» C- C — > f>* P5 -» "fl xs r-« C. C — *?i M 2 "-^ a
5*3»c>«oto»e>i5«'N?» ?< ^ H
• -
Digitized by
Google
JOU RNAL
OF
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 20.— August, 1833.
1.— Origin of the Shaky a race, translated from the Qf (La), or the 26th,
volume of the mDo class in the Kd-gyur, commencing on the 161st
leaf. By M. Alex. Csoma de Koros. ^
On a certain occasion, when Shaky a (in the text ajc^gaj*
Zt£*t*^4*q^«j Sangs-rgyas bchom-ldan hdas ; Sanscrit, Buddha Bha-
gavdnj was in the Nyagrodha grove (S. A'rama), near Ser-skya Gzhi
(S. Capilavdstu), many of the Shakyas that inhabited Capilavdstu
being gathered together in their council-house, questioned one another,
saying ; Shes-dan-tak ! (^f^£|, " intelligent ones :" an address.)
" Whence sprang the Shakya race ? What is their origin ? What
is the cause or reason thereof? And what is the ancient national
descent of the Shakyas ? If any one should come to us, and ask us
about those points, we could not tell him whence the Shaky as originated.
Come, let us go to Bhagavdn and ask him on the subject, that we may
abide by his saying."
Thereupon a very great number of the Shakyas inhabiting Capila-
vdstu, went to the place where Bhagava'n (bchom-ldan hdas) was, and
after having made their salutation by prostrating themselves at his feet,
•at aside.
Having addressed him by this term nJaT*f, htsun-pa (Venerable
Sir !) they repeat again, how they had been assembled, on what subject
they had talked, and how they had resolved to come before him ; and
then they begged of him, that he would acquaint them with those things
that they might afterwards tell them to others.
Bhaoavan thinking that, should he himself tell the history of
the ancient national descent of the Shakyas, then the Tirthihas and
2b
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S86 Origin of the Shaky a race. [Au*.
Parwrajahas (or they that are not of his followers) would say,
that Gautama tells whatever he pleases, to praise himself and his
tribe. Not to give them an opportunity for using such expressions,
he reflected within himself who were there among his disciples, who
could tell, in an instructive manner, the ancient descent of the Shaky as.
Perceiving Monoalyana to be present, and judging that he
was a fit person for that purpose, he called on him, saying, " Monga-
lyana, I am somewhat indisposed (I feel some pain in my back),
and want repose ; be you empowered by me to tell to the priests
(Gelongs) in an instructive manner the ancient national descent of the
Shaky as." He, nothing loth, assented. Shakta, seeing that he
obeyed his bidding, and having folded up his cloak, and put it for
a bolster or cushion, leaning on his right side, and laying bis feet
upon each other, with a clear knowledge, recollection, and self-con-
sciousness, composed himself to sleep.
M6ngaltana, (with the prefixed title j^c;»Wrsf y S.^y«*ma*, long-
lived ; Ayusmdn MdngalyanaJ in order to collect his ideas on the
subject, entered into a deep meditation, wherein he saw the whole
story. Recovering from his ecstasy, he sat down on a carpet*
spread on the ground, in the middle of the priests. Then he addressed
the Shdkyas of Capilavdstu, in the following manner :
" Gautamas! (or descendants of Gautama, spif JC^q). When this
world was destroyed, the animal beings (<vfir*r<S4 &"■*-****» Sanscrit
Satwa), mostly were born again amongst the gods, in that division of
the heaven, which is called that of " clear light" (S. Abhdswdra, Tib.
QV*1*VS0* And they resided there for a long period of time, having
an intellectual body, perfect in all its members and limbs, of a good
colour, shining by itself ; they walked in the air or heaven, and their
food consisted of pleasures only.
At that time this great earth was turned into mere water ; it consist-
ed of one lake or ocean. At length, on the surface of that ocean
there was formed by the air a thin substance, like skim on the sur-
face of boiled milk, that grew hard and covered the whole sur-
face. That earthly essence was of a fine colour, odour, and taste.
The colour like that of fresh butter ; the taste like that of refined
honey. Descendants of Gautama ! Such was the beginning of this
world.
Then, some animal beings in Abhdswdra, having finished their liv«s t
were born again to taste of the condition of man, and came to this
earth. They were with a perfect body produced from the mind (or
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1831] Origin of the Shaky a race. 387
they had an intellectual body), having all their members and limbs en-
tire ; they had a fine colour, and they were shining by themselves ; they
walked in the air or heaven, and fed on pleasures only ; they lived lor
a long period.
There was at that time in the world no sun, no moon, no stars, no
distinction of time, no moment, no minute, no night and day, no
month and year. No distinction into male and female sex. They
were called all by this one name, Animal (*J9f*TZ*i Sems-chan.J
Afterwards an animal being, of a covetous nature, tasted with his
finger's top of the earthly essence (Sahib t chud <V§ ? TJ5^), and the
more he tasted the more he liked it, and the more he liked the more
he ate thereof, till by little and little he ate a mouthful. Other animal
beings having observed him, they likewise did the same.
When those animal beings had eaten, successively, each a mouthful,
then entered into their bodies solidity and heaviness. The brightness
of their colour vanished, and then arose darkness in the world. Gau-
tama* / After there had morally arisen darkness in the world, the sun
and moon appeared, and so the stars also, and the distinction of time
into moment, minute, nigbt and day, month and year, began. They
pasaed thus a long time, living on that essential food. They that
had eaten but little of that food were possessed of a fine complexion
or colour, they that had eaten much became of a bad colour. And so
from the measure of food, there arose among them two species of colour.
" Ha ! Animal being ! I have a good colour, thou hast a bad colour ;"—
thus spoke contemptuously one animal being to another. On account
of the sin of such proud talk with respect to colour, that earthly es-
sence disappeared.
Qtmtemex! The earthly essence having disappeared, the animal
beings, gathered together, uttered many lamentations, and recollecting
what a fine flavour it had, regretted much the loss of that substance.
Gautama* ! After the earthly essence of the animal beings had va-
nished, there arose from the earth a fatty substance of a fine colour
and taste. They lived for a long time by eating of that substance.
They that ate but little of that food were possessed of a good
complexion or colour ; they that ate much became of a bad co-
lour. And thus from the measure observed in eating, there arose
among them two species of colour. " Ha ! Animal being ! I have a 1
good colour, thou hast a bad colour ;" thus contemptuously addressed
one animal being to another animal being. On account of the sin of
pride, again, the frit of the earth disappeared.
52d2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
888 Or&*ift**S*dkymt*4». [Aw.
Gautama* / The fatty substance of the earth baring d i sappe ar ed,
the animal beings gathering together, attered lamentations ; and recol-
lecting what a fine flavour it had/ they regretted much ita loaa: bat
they could not tell in words their sentiments.
Gautama* / After the greasy substance of the earth had vanished*
there arose a sugar-cane plantation, of a fine colour, odour, and taste.
The animal beings passed afterwards a long time by living on that
food, until the same cause led to its disappearance.
Gautama*! After the sugar-cane plantation had vanished, there
came forth clean and pure *dlu (rice), without being ploughed or sown,
having np straw, no husk, no chaff; if cut in the evening it ripened
again till the next morning (or there was every evening and morning
ready a fresh crop). The animal beings passed a long time living
pn sola.
From the use of that fruit there arose the distinction of aexes.
Some of the animal beings became males, and some females. Hie
different sexes regarded each other with fi^ed eyes. The more they
regarded each other, the more they became affectionate and desired
each other. Being observed by others, they were reproached by
them for their actions, and hated. They threw on them stones,
clods, &c. (in the same manner as now they, use at the cele-
bration of nuptials, to cast or sprinkle on the bride scented
powder* perfume, chaplets, clothes, and parched Hoe, saying. Afar you
be happy !) and reproved them much. The others, in their turn, replied,
•'Why do you thus abuse us now, is there no other proper time for
telling us these things ?"
Gautamas ! Thus what anciently was regarded as an immoral action*
is now taken for a virtue. They restrained themselves for a time (for
8, 3, or 7 days) from satisfying their lust. But afterwards not being.
able to contain themselves, they commenced to inake some covert, or
hiding place, whither they might retire from the sight of others to
satisfy their lust ; saying repeatedly, We will practise here what u\
not to be done elsewhere* and uttering, Kfyifn, hb*H* ; covert* covert,
pr house, house.
Gautama* ! This is the first beginning of building houses. ,
They used to gather in the evening the *dlu that was required for
the evening repast, and in the morning that which they wanted in the
morning. Afterwards it happened once that, a certain animal being
having gathered *aht in the evening for the next morning also, when
he was called on by another animal being to go and gather *dlu 9 he said
to him, O animal being, take heed to thine own *dtu, I have brought
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1603:] Origimof the 8Mky race. &89
yester-evening the $dht, which I require this morning. Then the
other animal being reflected with himself thus; Ah well then I
1 shall hereafter take sdlu for 2, 3, nay for 7 days, at once." He
did afterwards accordingly as he had said. Then an animal being.
said to him, " Come, let us go to bring sdlu/' He then said to him, O
animal being,take care for thine own sdkt ; " I for myself have brought at
erne, for seven days/ 1 Then that animal being reflected with himself
thus, " O well, very well, I shall take at once for fifteen days — for
one month." And he did accordingly. When the sdlu had been
taken thus by anticipation by these animal beings, there grew after-
wards sdlu that was covered with straw, husk, and chaff, and
when cut down, grew not again.
Then those animal beings assembled together, and reflected on their
former state thus :
Shes-dan-tak ! (JforWVQ> &c.) See leaves 169, 169. [Here fol-
lows a repetition of the above described stories respecting the several
changes that took place in the state of the animal beings. How perfect
they were formerly, and how degenerate they are now.]
Afterwards, being gathered together, some of them laid, " We must
mete out the land and assign the boundary of each property ; say*
ing, This is thine, and this is mine." Accordingly, they measured and
divided the land, and erected land-marks.
Gautama* ! This is the first time in the world that men commenced
to erect land-marks. This also was a natural consequence.
It happened afterwards, that an animal being, who had his own silu,
took away that of another not being given to him (or stole it).
Other animal beings having seen him, that, though he had his own
sdlu, he had taken away that of another, not being given him,
they said thus to him, " Oh animal being ! thou having thine own
safe, why takest thou that of another, without being given thee ?" They
seized him and dragged him on this and on that side, and took him into
the congregation, and then reproved him thus, " Sirs ! this animal be-
ing, having his own sdlu, has taken away three times that of another,
without its being given unto him."
Then those animal beings said to this, thus, " Oh ! animal being,
thou having thy own sdlu, why takest thou that of another which he had
not given thee ? Oh ! animal being ; go now away, henceforth do not
act in this manner ?" Then that animal being thus said to the others,
"Intelligent beings ! This animal being having dragged me on this side
and on that side, on account of the sdlu, taking me into the congre-
gation, has also abused me (with his language)." Then those animal
Digiti
zed by G00gle
S90 Origin of the Skdhya race. [Auo.
beings thus said to that animal, " Ha ! animal being ! after having
dragged this animal hither and thither on account of the sdiu, and
having brought him into the congregation too, why hast thou abused
him ? Oh ! animal being, go thou now thy way, hereafter do not thus."
Then those animal beings reflected with themselves thus, Intelligent
beings ! On account of sdlu, one is dragged hither and thither, and
is rebuked also in the congregation. But we should meet, and from
among us we should elect one (who is of a better complexion, hand-
somer countenance, more beautiful, more fortunate, and more renown*
ed) for the master and proprietor of all our fields or lands.
He shall punish from among us those that are to be punished. He
shall reward those that merit to be rewarded. And from the produce
of our lands we shall give him a certain part, according to a rule.
They accordingly met, and elected one for their master and proprie-
tor of their lands, and for the arbitrator of their controversies, saying to
him ; " Come, animal being, punish from among us those that are to be
punished, and reward those with a gift that merit to be remunerated ; from
all the products of our lands we will pay you a certain rate, ac-
cordingly to a rule." Afterwards on both sides, they did accordingly.
Since he was carried (or honoured) by a great multitude of ani-
mal beings, he was called jfcj^V'HSX^ Mang-pos bhtr-va ; Sans-
crit, Mahd Sammata, " Honoured by many."
Gautamas ! At the time of Mahd Sammata, man was called by this
name, " Animal being."
[The following five leaves (from 171 — 175) are occupied with an
enumeration of the descendants of Maha Sammata down to Karna
(a/zj'-M) at P°t°l a (fi'Q^I Gr*-hdsin* the harbour.) He had two
sons, Got am a and Bharadhwaja (T. rNa-va-chan.) The former took
the religious character, but Gotama being afterwards accused of the mur-
der of a harlot, was unjustly impaled at Potala, and the latter succeeded
to his father. He dying without issue, the two sons of Gotama inherit,
who were born in a prater- natural manner ; from the circumstances of
their birth, they and their descendants are called by several names ;
as, itfVQffl'gN Yan-lag-8,kye8 ; (S. Angirasa,) §**fQ sfa ; Nyi-maM-
gnyen, (S. Surya Vansa,) Gautama, r2%pf - g'X*r*te'y Bu-ram
shing-pa, (S. lskhwaku.) One of the two brothers dies without issue,
the other reigns under the name of Ikshwaku.
To him succeeds his son, whose descendants (one hundred) after-
wards successively reign at Potala (ffl'Qjraj), Gru-hdsin. The last of
* The ancient Potala, or the modem Taita, at the mouth of the Indus*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
.1832.] Origin of the Shdkya race. 891
▼horn was ig*X*r£fc*V Q^*W*§ *T*J : Ikshwaku Virudhaka, (or
Vid&aka.) He has four sons, afi/*f^Q'*]Tfc, Q[*T$, 55*qr£
q*^ and *iC**15Zr«M. After the death of his first wife, he marries
again. He obtains the daughter of a king, under the condition that he
shall give the throne to the son that shall he born of that princess. By
the contrivance of the chief officers, to make room for the young prince
to saceession, the king orders the expulsion of his four sons.
- They taking their own sisters with them, and accompanied by a
great multitude, leave Potala (g'Q^M), go towards the Himalaya, and
reaching the bank of the Bhagirathi river (flfOnH'^ 1 *'^ settle there,
not far from the hermitage of Capila the Rishi (5«r^'*VX/»§*ZJ§ T -
«jaj^, and live in huts made of the branches of trees. They live there
on hunting ; and sometimes they visit the hermitage of Capila the
Rishi. He observing them to look very ill, asks them why they
were so pale. They tell him how much they suffer on account of their
restraint or continence. He advises them to leave their own uterine
sisters, and to take themselves (to wife) such as are not born of
the same mother with them. O great Rishi ! said the princes, is it
convenient for us to do this ? Yes, Sirs, answered the Rishi, banished
princes may act in this way. Therefore, taking for a rule the advice
of the Rishi, they do accordingly, and cohabit with their non-uterine
sisters, and have many children by them. The noise of them
being inconvenient to the Rishi in his meditation, he wishes to change
his habitation. But they beg him to remain in his own place, and to
design for them any other ground. He therefore marks them out the
place where they should build a town : since the ground was given to
them by Capila, they called the new city CapUavastu. They multiply
there exceedingly. The gods seeing their great number, show them
another place for their settlement. They build there a town, and call
it by the name of W*V T x^f $ Lhas-bstan, (shown by a god.)
Remembering the cause of their banishment, they make it a law,
that no one of them hereafter shall marry a second wife of the same
tribe, but that he shall be contented with one wife.
At Potala ( «*Q^*|) the king Ikshwaku Virudhaka, recollecting
that he had four sons, asks his officers, what has become of them. They
tell him, how for apme offence His Majesty had expelled them, and
how they had settled in the neighbourhood of the Himalaya, and that
they have taken their own sisters for their wives, and have been much
multiplied. The king, being much surprised on hearing this, exclaims
several times : Shdkya ! Shdkya I Is it possible ! Is it possible ! (or
Digiti
zed by G00gle
999 Second Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. [A©s\
O daring ! O daring !) $vq ?hod-p*> and this is the origin of tfct
ShdJcya name.
After the death of Ikshwaku Virubhaka, g^jf T £ WQ4J&)*r£v^f
at Potala, succeeds his younger son ^QT^^flQ, jgyal-srid dg*k\
(he that desires to feign.) On his dying without children, the banished
princes successively inherit. The three first have no issue; the son of
^ fjS Bxr-W, the fourth prince, is, Gnag-hjog, s)3«/qj&|. Hie son is
V$*f . His descendants to the number of 55,000 have reigned at Cmpi-
lavdetu. [An enumeration of the princes who reigned at Potala after
Jeshwaku' follows, which is indentical with the list in Sanskrit authori-
ties ; the names being translated into Tibetan according to their literal
meaning ; as for Mahd Saminata, Many posbkur-va, greatly honored, Ac.]
Here ends the narration of Monqaltana. Sha'kya approves and re-
commends it to the priests.
. — ^ ...
II. — Second report on the Geology of Hyderabad. By H. W. Vbysey,
Esq. Surgeon and Geologist to the Trigonometrical Survey of /*4&a»
dated Seconder a bad, the 28th June, 1820. ^
I had the honor of submitting a geological description of part of the
dominions of His Highness the Nizam to the Marqubss of Hastings in
June last, since which I have visited a considerable additional portion
of the same country, including part of the Honorable Company's terri-
tory. I now beg leave to offer a more complete geological sketch of
the country through which I have passed, embracing in a great measure
the substance of the former report, but more systematically arranged.
The space included between the extreme points of my different jour*
neys is about 3° of latitude and 5° of longitude, viz. from 16* to 19*
N. lat. and from 77° to 82° E. long. : within it are four rivers, the
Goddveri, Kistna^ Maujira and Moussa, two of which may be ranked
among the principal rivers of India, viz. the Godaveri and the Kistnah.
The two first-named rivers take their rise in the Western Ghauts, and
some of their tributary streams at their origin are only separated a few
miles from each other. Their general course, is nearly south-east. The
Manjira differs the most from that course, being forced to double on
itself when it approaches the high land, commencing about thirty miles
north-west of Hyderabad. The course of the rivers accords with that
of the ranges of mountains, and the valleys through which they run.
Mountain*.
The granitic part of this country may be called both mountainous and
Bally, and in the plains and valleys are found elevations which are mini'
Digitized by
Google
UflUfc} Setond Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. 39$
stores of the loftier ranges. These ranges are few in number, and re-
markably interrupted and irregular, their extension inconsiderable, and
their height above the level of the sea about 2,500 ft., most of them
falling far short of that height. Single isolated hills and groups, with
round and conical summits, are by far their most common features.
Although the complete isolation of these hills and groups first
strikes the observer as being the prevailing character, on a closer ex*
animation it will be found that the apparently isolated hills are connect-
ed at their base by scarcely distinguishable elevations, pursuing the
N. W. and S. E. direction, common to them and the larger ones.
They are extremely bare and rugged in their outline, and consist of
piles of rock, one block being heaped above the other in irregular suc-
cession on an enormous mass of concentric granite. In the process of
decomposition these form tors and logging stones of a singular ap-
pearance.
The hill on which the Fort of Bhowdnigarh is built and that of Maul
AH, 2017 ft. above the level of the sea, may be taken as specimens of
the isolated hills and groups; and the ranges of Mulkapur and GoU
conda as specimens of the continued. The only parts of the country
which are entitled to the name of plains are those in the neighbourhood
of the rivers, being formed by their inundations and therefore of small
extent.
The above description applies to the greater part of the granite
country : those ranges of granite however which run N. £. and S. W.
from Gvntrfr to Gondwdna, forming the pass of the Kistna at Bej-
mara and that of the Goddveri at Pdpkunda, are of a different character;
the ranges being less interrupted, more elevated above the plains,
although not higher above the level of the sea, and altogether of a dif-
ferent structure. Their sides are very precipitous, and oblige the tra-
veller to use his hands and knees for a considerable portion of the
ascent.
Their outline is not at all rugged, and the logging stones and tors
of the former granite are nowhere visible.
The Cavalry cantonment of Ba'lara'm, six miles N. of Seconder dbdd,
is one of the highest inhabited villages of the granite country, and from
thence to the northward, the country gradually decreases in height as
far as Menachpet : the same takes place more suddenly at Malkapur
to the eastward, and at Patancherd to the N. W. The city of
Hyderabad, close to the walls of which the river JUoussa runs, is by
barometrical measurement 1672 feet above the level of the sea, and the
cantonment of Secanderabod 1837, which agrees with Colonel Lamb-
2 x
Digiti
zed by G00gle
394 Second Report on the Geology of Hydermbmd. [At«.
ton's trigonometrical measurement within 19 feet. Colonel Lam-
ton's observatory being 10 feet high, and the house where the obser-
vation was taken between 5 and 10 feet lower than the base of the
observatory, the agreement will be much closer.
The outline of the basaltic trap hills is smooth and rather flattens*
with a few conical elevations in the range ; or they consist of an sees-
tnulation of round hills with deep ravines intersecting and separating
them. They are covered with long grass to their summits. Their
course is the same with the granite they cover, but it frequently asp*
pens that no regular direction can be perceived.
The sandstone country and rocks are flat, the sides of the hub
steep, with extensive gaps in the course of their range, at times nearly
reaching to their bases ; their direction is N. W. and S. £. or nearly
so, and it is probable that they extend over a considerable portion of
the S. £. part of Gondwana.
Rbert.
The rivers of India, and particularly the Goddveri and Kietmo, are
Subject to great variations in the quantity of their waters dependent on
the periodical rains. The small rivers are nearly dry in the month of
May, and the channels of the larger contract to a fifth from their size in
the middle of the rains.
I before mentioned that the tributary streams take their rise near to
each other, and pass through a country of nearly similar formation, viz.
basaltic trap, and discharge their waters into the sea within 60 miles d
each other by several mouths, which like those of the Nile or the Ganges
run through a delta formed by their own alluvium. Their waters are much
discoloured in the rains, and deposit on their banks and throughout the
whole extent of the inundation, which takes place more or less every
year, a thick layer of black alluvial soil, called by Europeans " black
cotton soil." These banks vary from 50 to 30 feet in height, the
latter being the usual height of those of the Kistna. About 50 miles
from their embouchure they both pass through the chain of granitic
mountains which extend from Gantur to Gondwdna before men-
tioned.
The pass of the Kistna at Bejwdra is much broader than that of the
Goddveri at Pdpkonda. This may be the cause of the more extensive
inundations of the latter, since its channel is contracted from a breadth
of two and one mile to two furlongs by the lofty and precipitous sides
of these mountains. This defile constitutes the S. £. boundary of His
Highness*s dominions. Its extent from the last Nizam's village to the
nearest Company's village is about ten miles, which space is uninhabited.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
W88.] Setort Report ** the Geology af Hyderabad 83£
fb^-bttnlttf or tides of the mountain being so steep as even to preclude
communication in any other mode than by water. >
The extent of the modern inundation varies from six to three
miles on each side of the river, but judging from the distance at which
the black alluvium is found from the banks of the river, these periodical
floods have been more extensive*.
The last took place in the year 1816, and washed away houses and
eatde in great numbers ; and there are traditions of two others in the
course of the last century, each greater than the last. I am not abb
to speak with so much certainty of the inundations of the Kiatna ;
I have however seen the black alluvium covering the plain in
which the diamond mines of Purtedl are situated, extending six miles
from its banks ; also at Shermahomedpet, foe miles N. W. of its
bank.
These inundations are considered as important benefits by the inha-
bitants, and the produce of the land is proportionally increased after
their occurrence.
Tanks,
The lakes I have seen are all artificial, and are found only in the
granitic and sandstone country ; they are usually formed by uniting two
projecting points of low hills, which nearly separate the upper half of a
railey from the lower, by enormous causeways of granite, or mounds
of earth, which collect the different streams rushing from the hills
daring the rainy season, forming a sheet of water from three to ten miles
in circumference.
This mode of retaining water artificially is probably coeval with the
first increase of population in this country, as the small supply of water
derived from wells would not be equal to the cultivation of rice, which
n the only grain extensively produced in the granitic soil.
After the rains the loss they sustain from irrigation, evaporation &c
w supplied by infiltration, nevertheless many become dry before the
monsoon recommences. Those tanks which are neglected and no
longer supply rice-fields are speedily covered with the large leaves and
flowers of the nelumbo indica, otheliaalismoides, and other aquatic plants :
their waters acquire a noisome smell and unwholesome taste. The num-
ber of tanks and their state of repair afford a fair criterion of the pros-
perity of the country.
/From subsequent observations, I am inclined to believe that this alluvium or
«hmum was the result of a deluge of water which found its course to the sea by
^erinT nlDg * "" rirCn, ~ and •** th *y have *"* no *<>* than fori
2*2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
m Second Hepert o* tike Otology tfBfdermbiJL JHfa.
They are less frequent in the sandstone co un tr y , and the omrrigafeed
cultivation is accordingly more abundant.
In the basaltic trap they are rarely seen, and the irrigation of rice
-when cultivated is performed solely by wells.
Htt Springs.
There are two hot-springs. One called Gondola is situated io the
sandy bed of the Goddveri, about two furlongs from its left bank, a few
miles below the pagoda of Raddrachelam. It is covered in the rainy
season by the river, bnt is left dry during the greater part of the year.
The bed of the river about one mile and a half wide contains granitic
sand, above which appear rocks of granite and trap mixed in various
ways.
The spring is situated close to these rocks. When I visited it in
February, it was covered with sand, and we were obliged to dig in three
places before we discovered the hottest part. Around this spot to the
distance of 15 yards the temperature of a stick thrust into the ground
was sensibly raised, and on digging to the depth of three or four feet,
water was found hot, but of an inferior temperature to that of the
central spot. Its temperature at sun rise was 139°, that of the others
120° and 130,° whilst that of the air and river was 70°. The falling
in of the land, the pit being about four feet deep, so evidently reduced
the temperature, that it is very probable we should have found it much
higher on digging deeper, which we were prevented from doing by the
inconvenience the labourers suffered from the hot-water . TTie presence
of sulphuretted hydrogen was sensible to the smell ; but the impreg-
nation was not strong enough to blacken a silver pencil case : the tis-
sue of a slipper was slightly discoloured on being dipped into the
water.
On evaporating 2880 grains, six grains of saline matter were left
behind, consisting of sulphate of soda, common salt, and muriate of
lime.
It is much resorted to from its supposed efficacy in curing cutane-
ous disorders. It is worthy of remark, that the rocks in the neigh-
bourhood contain no iron pyrites. Its heat therefore cannot be ascribed
to the spontaneous combustion of that mineral.
On the opposite bank of the river is a bluff rock of sandstone, through
the crevices of which water infiltrates and is collected in small reser-
voirs, caused by the continued dropping on the soft stone. Its tem-
perature at nine o'clock was 68°. I do not consider this to be the mean
temperature of the place, since its latitude, 18° N. and height above
the level of the sea not exceeding 130 feet, would make its mean tern-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
tSM.] Second Heport on the Geology of Hyderabad. 49?
perature much higher. It is called by the natives, " the cold spring,"
in contradistinction to its neighbour Gondola.
About 30 miles to the N. W. of this place is the hot-spring of
Bangah, situated in a valley surrounded by sandstone rocks. It is a
pool of water, about 40 feet long by 20 broad and five feet deep. From
the deepest part a number of bubbles of air or steam are continually
ascending ; there its temperature is 1 10°, but at the sides 100°. It holds
in solution a small quantity of carbonate of lime. It is surrounded by
loose blocks of a porous black limestone : the water is tasteless, and
remarkably pure in other respects.
I have frequently received information of the existence of springs of
water both in the granite, the trap, and the sandstone countries, but
haTe always been disappointed in my search after them ; as I have
invariably found that the rills which flow down to the rivers are sup-
plied by infiltration of water through the rocks, from the higher ground,
and their temperature always that of the surrounding atmosphere.
This perfectly accords with the structure of the country, and the absence
of rain during eight months of the year. The hills being none of them
high enough to intercept the clouds, and deprive them of their water.
TTie temperature of a well at Beder, 200 feet deep, was 77° in the
month of March, and that of a well, 40 feet deep, at Secanderabad, 78*
in November and in June : this is probably very near the mean tem-
perature of both places.
Soili.
The fertility of the soils which compose the cultivated districts of
the granitic part of this province would depend greatly on the facility
with which the rock of which they are formed, decomposes, were not
water the most important requisite in the cultivation of rice. The soil
is of course siliceous, but varies as much as the granite rock itself,
which will be described in another part of this sketch. Generally, it
has few spontaneous productions. The rich valley of Malkapur forms
an exception, and it may be said that usually the spontaneous fertility
is in the inverse ratio of height above the level of the sea.
The following is an analysis of a garden soil at the cantonment of
Secanderabad, which has not received much manure.
Specific gravity of soil T70. Four hundred and eighty grains con-
tained; viz.
Of water of absorption, 10 grs.
Stones, consisting of quartz and felspar, 255
Vegetable fibre, , 2
Siliceous sand, • 154
421
Digiti
zed by G00gle
#S$ Second Report on the Geology ofHydenba. [Aim.
Of minutely divided matter separated by infiltration ; viz.
Carbonate of lime, '
Vegetable matter, destructible by heat, 7
Oxide of iron 2>5
Soluble matter, common salt, *
Silica, *°
Alumina, 8
10.5
Total. 480.&
The Boil of the basaltic trap country is generally very retentive of
moisture, and accordingly those plants which do not require an artifi-
cial supply of water are its principal productions : such are cotton,
jovan (ligusticum ajwanj, horse gram, Zea mays, carthamus tinctorius,
ricinus communis, &c. &c.
The iron clay in the environs of Beder is very sterile, and is so
porous that all water percolates through it to the substratum, which is
basalt ; from this cause it is that the wells at that place are deep.
The sandstone soil contains a considerable quantity of clay, and is
retentive of moisture ; irrigation is however employed for rice, and
generally it may be said to partake of the nature of both the trap and
granite soils.
Above all others that I have hitherto seen, that arising from the de-
composition of the clay slate marked B. in the map, is the richest and
most spontaneously productive.
On the tops of its mountains T saw the loftiest teak trees, and in its
plains the most exuberant vegetation.
The black alluvium found on the banks of all the rivers except the
Moussa, which takes its rise in granitic country, is of the same nature
with that which covers the trap mountains from the decomposition of
which it arises.
Rocks.
The description of the soils naturally leads me to that of the rocks,
of the debris of which they are composed.
The granite is found of all Bhades of grey, from black to white ; the
most predominant is reddish grey ; these colours depend upon the fel-
spar and the mica, and on the hornblende, which often occupies the
place of and accompanies the mica, and is with difficulty distinguished
from it. Compact felspar of a greenish tinge is a very common ingre-
dient, and in several places I have found carbonate of lime a consti-
tuent ; the quantity, however, is generally small, and only to be detected
by its effervescence in acids. A tuffaceous limestone is found through-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1635.] Second Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. *$9
out the granite in neats and beds ; my knowledge of it k yet too limited
to decide on its nature.
The granite very frequently contains angular and rounded masses of
a micaceous granite, which appear to have been enclosed in it when in
a fluid state ; at times the edges of these masses are commixed with
those of the containing rock, and at others the adhesion is so loose as
to allow the mass to fall out, as the more easily decomposable matrix
wears away. I have seen these masses, through the whole extent of
the granite country ; and it first suggested to me the probability of the
contemporaneous formation of the whole.
I may here observe, that the specific gravity of these masses is greater
than that of their matrix, as is also their infusibility, from the greater
quantity of mica they contain. '
The granite of the Godnveri at Papkunda is never in concentric
layers. It contains half-formed garnets and micaceous iron ore.
The felspar of some specimens has a very pearly lustre : this mineral
is sometimes wanting, and the rock then consists of quartz and garnets,
with a few specks of micaceous iron ore.
At Bejwdra the granite is slaty (gneiss), with an eastern dip at an
angle of 70 or 80 degrees ; the felspar is more abundant. In some
irregular veins of earthy carbonate of lime, I found earthy grey man*
ganese ore.
At Gharibpet, a few miles from Paldnshah, the rock which I be-
lieve to be a continuation of the Kainikgfri range and connected with
the granite of the province, is a compound of mica, kyanite, garnets,
quartz, and felspar. If the rock were at all slaty, its name would be
mica slate ; it is however not at all schistose, but a solid mass of
rock three hundred feet in height, and four or five hundred in length.
Trap veins.
The trap veins which run through this rock constitute the most
remarkable fact in its history. They consist of hornblende rock, green-
stone, greenstone porphyry and basalt, containing minute crystals of fel-
spar. They are found in every part of the granite, and have generally
the same direction, nearly £. and W., with a zigzag course of various
length and breadth. v
Some of them have been traced fifteen or twenty miles, their breadth
varying from a few feet to 100, 200 and 300 ; at times their edges are
commixed with those of the granite : the central masses affect a rhomboi-
dal form, which in the course of their decomposition become rounded.
In a few instances I have seen these trap rocks in beds which do not
appear to have any particular directions.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
400 Second Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. [Am.
This was the case in the bed of the Goddveri near the hot-spring,
also on the banks of the river, and 15 miles inland, near PaJui-
*hah, and at the foot of the micaceous rock of Gkaribpet.
Sandstone.
The sandstone varies considerably in composition and colour. Its
variations however occur principally in the neighbourhood of its junc-
tions with the other rocks. Its most common cement is lithomarge,
which is . also found in it in nests and beds of various sizes, and of
colour both white and reddish white.
It is thus found at Jallikara Gudani, 20 miles N. £. of EUore, at
Chintapet y at Palunshah, at Mangapet and Tyellap&ram.
At its junction with the granite to the S. £. of Hyderabad, twelve
miles from Thatk&r, it would be scarcely recognized as sandstone.
It there consists of a conglomerate, containing pebbles of quartz,
felspar, a few scales of mica, and rounded pieces of a rock resembling
the granite of Pdpkunda, in a cement of indurated clay strongly im-
pregnated with iron. It soon however changes to a rock, containing
grains of sand cemented by lithomarge as before described.
The rounded pebbles of quartz, in some instances, form nearly the
whole of the mass. It sometimes contains septaria of a black ferru-
ginous sandstone of a curvilinear form, which project as the rock de-
composes.
A few miles to the N. W. of Buddrachellam commences a range of
flat sandstone hills called by the natives Vindhaya ; they extend upwards
of sixty miles on the right bank of the river.
Both white and grey sandstone were brought to me gathered at their
bases.
At the junction of the sandstone with the granite at Ramgiri it
contains crystals of red felspar and a few scales of mica. In no instance
have I seen this sandstone stratified. The height of the highest flat
range is about 3000 feet.
Basaltic Trap.
The basalt which covers the granite to the N. W. of Hyderabad at
first appears only on the summits of some of the hills ; the latter rock
still occupying the valleys and forming the sides of the mountains. It
afterwards gradually increases in extent until it covers it in all its parts,
the granite re-appearing only in the beds of some of the rivers, and
forming the base of some isolated peaks. It is sometimes found
columnar, the columns being of all sizes, from a foot to a yard and a
half in diameter, as at Oudghir, Money al, &c. It varies from a very
compact semi-crystalline rock, resembling hornblende rock, to aporom
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Second Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. 401
basalt which passes into wacken, containing stilbite, mesotype, icthyoph-
thalmite, heliotrope, calcedony, green earth, quartz with crystals of
calcareous spar imbedded, the form of which the quartz has taken,
demonstrating that this mineral has been the last deposited. The
wacken passes into iron clay, and in some places the basalt may be seen
with the wacken and iron clay in the space of a few yards. The latter
forms elevated table land at Beder, which is 2,359 feet above the level
of the sea; it closely resembles that of the red hills at Madras, Nellore,
SingMrikunda (in the two latter on granite), all on the sea coast, but in
this instance rests on basalt. I observed in it plumb blue lithomarge,
and pisiform iron ore.
On the basaltic hill of Medkunda I observed large masses of flint
lying on the surface and deeply connected ; also pieces of a siliceous
stone, containing shells which had lost their carbonic acid: the external
surface of these masses effervesced in acids. These shells belong to
the genera turbo and cyclostoma, and living specimens are found in
the beds of most of the rivers as well as on the rocks in their neigh-
bourhood. The specific gravity of these stones varies from 1*90 to
2*00, that of the flint is 2*60. A few miles from this place I observed
the same shells enclosed in small pieces of earthy limestone ; they were
lying on the basalt, which is here 2000 feet above the level of the sea
and about 200 above the river Manjira : the base of the hill being
granite, and the basalt not occupying more than 100 feet.
Quartz rock occurs in the granite in beds, as at Pit lam, Gazypet,
and in the environs of Hyderabad : the rock in the neighbourhood of
the latter is elevated 40 or 50 feet above the level of the plain through
which it runs; its course is north and south, and its extent about twelve
miles. It contains considerable quantities of amethystine quartz, which
is not pure enough for the purposes of the lapidary.
The loose masses of quartz, as well as those which appear above the
surface, have a rhomboidal form. This rock runs directly opposed to
the greenstone veins, and intersects three of them. I have reason to
believe that the trap passes through the quartz, although I have not
yet distinctly observed it, except in one instance near Hyderabad.
Clay Slate.
The clay slate which is found to the eastward of Hyderabad, between
Byardm and Palunshah, is about 20 miles in breadth and perhaps 30
miles in length, with a north and south direction. One of its highest
points, Panch-bondal, is 2600 feet above the level of the sea. The
valleys contain sandstone, clay slate, and quartz rock ; this latter is also
found on the summits in veins and beds.
2 v
Digiti
zed by G00gle
402 Secdnd Report on the Geology of Hyderabad* [Art.
Some of the mountains exhibit marks of great disturbance : the dip
of their strata is to the south-east, and on their summits the aunt*
rock and clay slate appear to be indiscriminately mixed. The chasms
formed by these disturbances give passage to foaming cascades, tie
only sound which breaks the awful silence of their solitude.
The rock is generally indurated clay slate passing into flinty date,
containing drawing slate but no roofing slate.
On the banks of the Kistna between Amrawat* and WarripUi
beyond which I have not traced it, and from WarripiU to within three
coss of Nacricul, is found a limestone in horizontal strata.
When first seen it lies on the surface of the earth in large flat massei
partly covered with alluvial soil ; its colour varying from a dirty white
to a pinkish white, from which it passes into a compact black rock whick
is capable of receiving a good polish. It subsequently assumes a whitish
green and pinkish grey, and on the banks of the river it is found of all
these colours except the black. Veins of green hornstone are found
passing through it, and at times small masses of red iron ore. It con-
tains no petrifactions.
It is well adapted for building, for sculpture, for mortar, and I be-
lieve for water cement. Large pagodas and forts built of it bear fewer
marks of age than most of the granitic structures.
The town of DdchapiU is entirely built of it, as well as a large
pagoda and fort at WarripiU. The famous basso relievos of ^strs-
wati, for the first account of which we are indebted to Colonel Mac-
kenzie, are formed from this rock.
A pure lime is obtained from numerous veins of calcareous spar oa
the river bank, and I conceive the black limestone contains the requisite
proportion of alumina and iron for making a good water-cement.
No inland carriage is required, since it is quarried on the banks of
the river, and may be carried down at all seasons of the year to Ma-
mtlipatam.
An analysis of one hundred grains of grey slaty limestone gave
Carbonate of Lime, 84
Alumina, $
Iron, 4
Low, 4
Grains, 100
Iron Ores.
I have hitherto seen no ores of iron in the granite. The sandstone
and iron clay are the most productive. They consist principally of
earthy brown and red iron ores, poor in iron, but easily smelted* The
Digiti
zed by G00gle
19S J.j Second Report on the Geology of Hyderabad. 409
modes of smelting are well known to be very rude, and have been fre-
quently described 4 '. On calculation I found that the price of their iron
in its best state was double that of the best English iron at home. The
ore from which the steel is produced, which goes by the name of the
•' Hyderabad steel," is the same with that described by Dr. Hyne in
his travels in India, p. 191. 1 have not yet seen the process of making
it, but from a specimen which I found much inferior to the English
steel in hardness, I should suppose it not to be the same as the Indian
wools so much valued at homef.
Diamond Mine*.
On the banks of the Kistna and within reach of its inundations are
the celebrated diamond mines of Golconda. It is probable they have
been so named from their being the property of the sovereign of Gol-
conda, which kingdom received its name from the celebrated hill fort
and city called old Golconda, near the modern city of Hyderabad.
They are situated in a plain on the left bank of the Kistna, formed
by its alluvium, and bounded on the east by a chain of mountains run-
ning nearly north and south, on the west by the river, on the north by
die granite of Sher- Mahomed-pet, and on the south by that of Beswara.
In this plain a few peaks of granite of 15 or 20 feet in height are seen
rising above the surface of the black alluvium, but none are found nearer
the mines than one mile and a half. The mine situated nearest the
hills is two miles distant from them. These hills consist of a mixture of
quartz, felspar, hornblende, and mica, the latter in very small quantity ;
the hills near them at Condapili are of sienite approaching to green-
stone, the hornblende being in the greatest proportion.
From the circumstance of these sienitic hills being surrounded by
granite on all sides, I venture to suppose that they are merely a repeti-
tion of the phenomenon of the trap veins on a much larger scale, in
this case forming mountains differing in their constituent parts, but not
more than I have observed in other instances. The taluses of these
mountains extend to a very short distance from their bases, and as I
was not able to find in the rubbish of the diamond mines any substrata
resembling them, Wbbnbb's supposition that these rocks, which he calls
trap from the examination of specimens, were the matrix of the dia-
mond, will prove unfounded. This receives a further confirmation from
the fact, that one of the mines near PuKchinta is situated on or near
limestone, and the mine oiMalavill 20 miles south-east of Parteal lie*
on granite and is surrounded by that rock.
* See Journ. As. Soc. toI. i. p. 150. t See ditto, p. 245,
2 f 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
404 Second Report on tie Geology of Hyderabad. {A*sV
Of the six villages situated in this plain, Parteol is the only one in
which diamonds are sought for. There even no fresh excavations have
been made for many years, and the workmen have been since employed
in examining the old rubbish of the former excavations. They believe,
in common with the searchers for diamonds in Hindustan, that the
gem is always forming in the mine, although very slowly.
The village of Par teal presented a striking contrast to the Company's
village we had just quitted : it was in ruins, and the inhabitants ill
clothed and half starved in their appearance. I afterwards visited the
mines of Antior one mile from the Kistna, Barthtmx Pandoa, and
Malavili, but in none did I find labourers.
There is still a considerable quantity of ground unopened in all these
mines : indeed the sides of the excavations, which have produced the
finest diamonds in the world, still remain untouched. The want of
capital, and the objections of the zemindars to a farther encroach-
ment on the cultivated lands, may be the causes operating chiefly to
prevent farther researches, together with the fact of the cheapness and
plenty of the Brazil market.
The only stone common to all the mines I have visited, and which
I understood to be indicative of the presence of the diamond, is the
calcareous conglomerate*.
Garnets.
The garnet mine of Gharibpet is situated south of Palintkek
about eight miles. As I advanced up the ravine, in which I noticed
veins of granite and trap and sand composed of mica, garnets, kyanite,
quartz, and felspar, large scattered masses of rock were strewed on
each side, which had fallen from the summit. On the top of the
immense mass of rock were several detached pieces, no doubt destined
to fall as soon as decomposition shall have smoothed the way.
Accustomed to see garnets in mica slate in Scotland and elsewhere,
I was disposed to call this rock by the same name, but I did not per-
ceive in any one instance any thing like stratification.
I found it throughout composed of mica, garnets, kyanite, quartz,
and felspar ; in some specimens the kyanite was next in abundance to
the mica. Veins of quartz containing kyanite were very frequent. The
garnets, which were seen in great profusion on the surface of the rock,
were generally of a very coarse kind, as well as those which I found
strewed on the surface of the ground.
At the depth of eight or ten feet in the alluvium at the foot of the
rock were found the precious garnets. The theory of crystallization
• See a paper by Dr. Votsey in the Asiatic Researches, voL xr. p. 120.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
BttJ bactria* and Indo-Scythic Coins: 40$
proposed by Mr. Methuen*, and founded on experiment, will serve to
explain why the precious garnets are only found in the soil beneath
the rock.
I conceive that in this instance, as well as many others I have wit-
nessed, of crystallization, the small particles of garnet are brought
together by molecular attraction ; and by the temperature, which is
nearly constant, the moisture and superincumbent pressure, crystals of
the precious stone are formed.
In this mode I have seen felspar and zeolite recrystallized, at the
foot of the rocks, as well as in the alluvium they afford by decom-
position.
The garnets when collected are gently pounded, and the bad ones
broken : those which survive the blows are reckoned of good quality.
The cheapness of these precious stones becoming greater every day,
from the quantity found in all parts of the world, and the facility and
exactness with which they are imitated rendering them of smaller value ;
the discovery of a fresh mine is scarcely worthy of notice.
I cannot close my present sketch without expressing how much I
have been assisted by the kindness of Mr. Russell, resident at Hydera-
bad, and of Mr. Ralph, a gentleman in His Highness' service, who was
my fellow-traveller for three months in a difficult part of the country,
which I might never have seen but through his aid.
III. — Bactrum and Indo-ScytMc Coins — continued. By Jas. Prinsep,
F. R. S., Sec. Ab. Soc. ^ *
The present plate introduces us to some of the coins of Doctor Swiney's
collection already alluded to in my last communication. It is as well
to premise that all order of arrangement is out of the question where
new objects are every day dropping in, and where the epoch of so many
of oar coins is not yet satisfactorily ascertained. Thus it happens that
although headed " B&ctrian," the last plate, as well as the present, con-
tains coins of other dynasties.
Dr. Swine y pursued a course very similar to that of Colonel Tod in
forming his collection. — " The plan I have found most successful under
favorable circumstances of locality, or where no one has already explored
the same ground, (and I have followed it many years before I heard of
Colonel Tod's eminent success in the same pursuit,) is this : upon the line
of march I employ an intelligent servant, generally aMusulman tailor,
to buy up old pyse, which the b any as in some towns are in the habit of
putting aside as useless, perhaps from father to son, and which rarely
• See Journal of Science and Arts, vol. i.
Digiti
zed by GoOgk
406* Bactrian and Indc-Scythic Coin*. t^cre*
tee the light except on occasions of this sort. Out of sotne dozens
procured in this manner for as many current pyst, a few may be suffi-
ciently curious to reward the trouble of search. Such beautiful coins
as Lieut. Buknxs brought back with him from the Panj&b and Oxua
are no longer to be procured in India ; indeed ancient silver coins are
of very great rarity compared either with those of gold or copper, and
the only two Bactrian coins I have been so fortunate as to discover,
were obtained out of the limits of our provinces."
I have not attempted to engrave any of the numerous sketches of his
antiques which Dr. Swinbt has been so obliging as to forward, bat
have confined myself to those of which he has sent sealing-wax im-
pressions, or paper casts made in the school -boy fashion (but not to be
despised on that account), by wrapping the coin in several folds of pa-
per, and robbing the exterior with a key or hard blunt point.
Bactrian coins, Plate VIII.
Figs, 1, 2, and 3, are described at pages 311 and 313.
Fig. 4. — A small silver coin of Apollodotus, weighing 36 grs.
Obverse, Head with diadem and fillets, and a neckcloth, inscription
circular, close but quite distinct ; aitoaaoaotot basiaexui
SOTHPOS kai ♦iAoriATOPOX The introduction of the con*
junction kai I do not remember to have seen on any other
Greek coin.
Reverse. A standing figure of Jupiter, rudely executed, holding* a
thunderbolt in his right hand, raised, and a kind of shield
in the left : from the arms depend two ends of a sleeve or
scarf ; on the right is a singular monogram, (No. 4. of the
series at the foot of the plate,) differing widely from that
of Colonel Tod's coin of the same king, (No. 6. of the same
series.) The legend is distinct but illegible, and agrees in cha-
racter with that upon many of the bull and elephant coins—
(see Wilson's plates, figs. 3, 4, 31 ; Ton, figs. 11, 12, &c.)
The native who brought this coin to Dr. Swinbt stated that it was
procured by him at a town called Kaital, in the Sikh territory, not far
from KarnH.
Fig. 5. — A coin of Menander, agreeing in its general feature* with
the last ; weight 34 grs.
Obverse. A well executed and intelligent face, with the diadem;
latter part of the inscription not very distinct MENANAPOT
BAXIAEnS 2fiTH(P02 ?)
Reverse. The figure supposed to be Jupiter in the last coin appears in
this rather to be Minerva wielding the bolts of Jove, or it
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1853.] Bactrian and Indo-Scythfc Coins. 407
nay be a native warrior throwing a bundle of javelins or
darts. The monogram (No. 5) resembles the last without
the hook, (unless the hook below, as I at first supposed,
forms a part of it) ; one half of the inscription consists of the
same letters as appear on the coin of Appollodotus : it must
therefore be the native title equivalent to $wri\**s <rvnjpou
This coin was purchased of a shroff in the bazar at Subdthu.
In favor of these two coins I may venture to repeat the remarks of
Professor Schlegbl, on the equally valuable pair discovered by Col.
Tod. — " These two medals are beyond all price, as much for their ad-
mirable preservation as for their extreme rarity and their importance
to history." And I shall make no apology for also translating the
Professor's learned commentary on that part of the Bactrian history
connected with them, at length, as much more satisfactory than a par-
tial gleaning or plagiarism of his remarks, which so well exemplify the
use of numismatology in correcting the vagaries of historians.
" In the profound obscurity which envelopes the history of Bactria, we must cull
with care all that can throw the least light upon it.
" We find only two passages in ancient authors which mention king Apollodotus.
Arrian, the reputed writer of the Periplus, says, 'A^* oZ p4xpi rw iv Bapvydfait
voXoj aX wpox*povei SpaxMof> ypdnficurw 'EWrjytKoh eyxtxapayn^vai, Marina rmv
per* 'A\4tav&f»v frfaetXewceWuv 'AwoMoBotqv koI MwdvMpov. " For this reason
even now ancient drachma? are current at Barygaza [Brigu-gdcha or Baroach],
bearing, in Greek characters, the stamp of the kings who reigned after Alexander,
Apollodotus and Menander."
The two coins now brought to light, agree better with this passage
from Abbian than those of Col. Ton, on account of their exact simi-
larity, which would allow them naturally to be coupled together in
speaking of them.
"The other passage concerning Apollodotus is from the summary of the history
of Tragus Pompeius, which is placed at the head of the abridgment of Justin.
Prolog, lxxi.
"Demde, quo rege pugnante, Scythica gentes, Saranca et Ariani Bactra occupa-
wire et Sogdutno*. Indicts guogue res addita, gestaper Apollodotum et Menandrum
regee eorum"
" The printed editions have Apollodorum, which was corrected by the learned
and judicious Bayer, on the authority of the Periplus. This reading is now fully
confirmed by a medal (two), an authentic and public monument. Vaillant and
J*ongubrue suspected a corruption of the text, and sought to correct it in another
way. They thought that the name of Apollodotus, the historian of the Parthian
and Bactrian kings, had been confounded with that of a king, and Longuerux pro-
posed to read ex Apollodoro, geeta per Menandrum et Eucratidam, regee eorum.
This is not correcting but disfiguring arbitrarily an ancient text ; and yet the latest
editor of Justin in France, M. Lemairb, recommends this unwarrantable conjee-
tort!
Digiti
zed by G00gle
408 Bactrian and Indo-Scythic Coins. [Au©.
"Bayer, however, while he reinstates Apollodotus, disputes his title to the
kingdom of Bactria, which Col. Tod Again vindicates with reason. Bate* woold
make him one of those Greek kings who, at that epoch, reigned separately over a
part of India, such as Demetrius, son of Euthtdemus. This is in the first
place contrary to the text of Troous Pompeius : for the word eorum applies to
Bactra et Soydicmoi. The coin confirms this refutation, for by what motive
ah on Id a Greek king, net having possession of Bactria, put a legend in Bactrian
characters on the reverse of his coin ? I call them so, without prejudice to the
question of the language to which they may belong. Certainly they are not San-
skrit : they have a strong resemblance to those on the early Sassanian medals. The
credit of decyphering them is reserved for scholars acquainted with Zend and
Pehlevi. (
" To escape from this objection, we must suppose that Apollodotus reigned m
the eastern provinces of the ancient Persian empire, south of Bactria. The medal of
Demetrius, son of Euthtdemus, discovered by the Baron Meyendorf, bears a
Greek legend ficuriktoos Atj^Vp">u ; the empire of India is designated by the akin
of an elephant's head with which the portrait of the prince is adorned.
" Apollodotus therefore must be admitted among the kings of Bactria. The cele-
brated Visconti has endeavoured to assign his probable place in Bayer's Chronolo-
gical Canon of Six Kings, the dates of which are however mostly conjectural -. he
places him after Euthtdemus" (see p. 315) , " and both the authorities quoted above
agree in placing him before Men ander. Now Mbnandbr certainly reigned be-
tween Euthydem us and Eucratidas,; but Visconti will not allow the latter to
follow Menander directly : he makes a place between their reigns for Heliocles,
whose name is only known from one medal bearing the inscription &ari\4*t
'H\iok\4ovs Sucolou, and pronounced by Mionnet to be of Bactrian fabric, merely
from analogy to other coins of the same locality— an argument by no means conclu-
sive. When a coin of Heliocles shall be discovered in India or Tartary, we may
grant his title to the Bactrian throne."
" It is difficult to assign the exact limits of the Indian dominions of the Bactrian
monarcDB, or of their contemporaries, who reigned in India itself. The ancients
use the word India vaguely, and sometimes make it comprise the Persian provinces
north-west of the Indus. The conquests of the Bactrians may have been made in
two directions : — one, towards the east by the Panjdb, and onwards ; the other, by
following the course of the Indus. The expedition of Seleucus Nicator was
directed towards the Ganges ; by his treaty with Chandragupta, king of the
Prarii (people of the East) , he gave up some provinces, and received a number
of elephants in exchange. It is probable that the first kings of Bactria, on declaring
themselves independent, took possession of what remained of Alexander's con-
quests in the Panjdb." [Or. Swine y's coins confirm their domination there, as Un-
as the presence of medals can do so.] "At any rate, the third king, Euthtdemus,
in his treaty with Antiochus the Great, by which treaty his independence was
acknowledged, gave up all his elephants. This proves two points : first, that
Euthydemus had provinces, or at least subjects in India proper ; second, that his
rule was not extensive, for the elephants were few in number ; added to those gives
by Sophaoasbnub to Antiochus, they made but 150, whereas Seleucus re-
ceived 400 from Chandragupta.
" Antiochus' expedition was brilliant, but it procured him little solid advantage
beyond the acquisition of these war elephants. After his campaign against Euthtde-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Bactrian and Indo-Scythic Coins. 4<&
«t and SoPHAGAtiNUi he repassed the Indus, and retained by way of Arschosia
tod Carmania to the western seat of his empire." [Was it after this expedition
that he struck the coin represented in fig. 2, depicting the stern of a boat of the
river Indus ?]
•« Ettthydbmus may hare profited by the distance of Antiochus, and the decline
of his strength, to deprive him of the provinces situated along the Lower Indus. It is
certain that Dkmbtrius reigned there, I think, first as governor in the name of his
lather ; — afterwards as an independent king. Demetrius did not succeed Eothy-
lreircs in Bsctria : his absence perhaps allowed his competitor to supplant him. If
Drmrtrius had not been in possession at the death of his father, with what force
could he have conquered these vast provinces, when the army of Bactria was at the
command of a rival ? It is he, no doubt, who founded the city of DemetrUu in
Arachoeia, the name of which is preserved in the geographical work of Isidorus.
Thence his dominions extended to the Delta of the Indus.
" Tnoous-PoMFEius ascribes exploits in India to Apollodotus and Menan-
dkr ; Strabo also to the latter. Their conquests then must have been towards the
Pemj&b, since they would have come into contact with Dxmetrius on the south ;
and there is no mention of war between the Bactrians and this king of India until
the end of the reign of Eucratidas. Stbabo says expressly that Mknanbkr
passed the Hyphan* and penetrated to the Jamoa. [Ely* koX top "Twayir Sii0n wpot
3», kcu /Uxpt rov la-ofiov v pot) KB*, lege ^Yaaw et Ivpayov.]
" This authorises our extending his kingdom to Mathura or evenBaiiaaor, (where
CoL Tod's coin was found.) The probability is, that it included the kingdom of
Ldkort; for since Stbabo says that Men ander was the first to penetrate so far, his
predecessor's rule of course must have been more limited."
Plutarch bears testimony to the excellent character of Mbnandbb
as a sovereign ; — "a certain king, Msnandbr, who had reigned with
justice over the Bactrians, having died in camp, the cities in common
had the care of his funeral rites, but afterwards contended for his
ashes ; they at last divided his remains equally amongst them, and
agreed that monuments to him should be raised amongst them all*."
May not this singular passage have had its origin in a confused account
of the monuments raised by the Buddhists to preserve the relics of their
lawgiver, of which one at Manikycda seems to have been founded im-
mediately after the Bactrian monarchy was upset, and while the com*
munication of those countries with the west was still perhaps maintain*
edt ? But to return to M. Schlsgsl's epitome : —
" We know nothing of Hrlioclxs, if indeed he ever reigned in Bactria. But as
Evcratidas was the first to assume the distinction of great king, it is natural to
suppose that he aggrandized the empire. He may have conquered Ariana, which
Srabo says belonged to Bactria.
" For the war between Eucratidab and Demetrius, king of India, we are
reduced to the unsatisfactory notice of Justimvb, according to whom Drmbtrius
was the aggressor. Euoratioas, at first besieged, and in great danger, saved
himself by his valour, and finished by despoiling his adversary. In his retreat,
• Major Tod oa Bactrian Medals, Roy. As. Res. L 330. f See page 315.
2 o
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4\& Bactrian and Indo-Scythk Coin*. fAtfa-
after terminating this war, he was assassinated by his son. Bays* thinks that.
this Demetrius is the same who in his youth negociated the peace for his father
EuTHYDEMUB with Antiochcs. However, the great age to which be mast hate
attained is a staggering objection. One may reconcile probabilities by supposing
that a son of the same name had succeeded to Demetrius's throne.
" The existence of the parricide of Eucratidas is well established ; but his name
is unknown, and it is uncertain whether he enjoyed the fruits of his crime. King
Eucratidas II. therefore,in Bayer's catalogue, resta only on a double conjecture.
" Thus end the Bactrian kings hitherto known. The latter history of the dynasty
is enveloped in darkness yet thicker than the rest. Justin attributes its destruction
to the Parthians; the author of the summary of Troous-Pompeius to the Scythi-
ans ; both quoting the same authority. It appears then that both these nations
took part in it, but that the Scythians remained in possession.
" In a fragment of Diodorus, or rather in an extract by Photius,U is said, that
one of the Arsacidae (no doubt the Sixth, Mithridates I.) penetrated as far as In-
dia and seized the kingdom of Porus, i. e. of the country between the Hydaapes and
the Acesines. Bayer says with reason that the Greeks, wherever they allude to
India, imagine a Porus ; — but in this case the historian seems justified, for we see
that the Bactrians possessed not only that province but even beyond it By Bay-
er's calculation, Mithridates I., king of Parthia,must have survived Eucratidas
by seven years,but these dates are purely conjectural. At any rate, it is after Eucra-
tidas' death that these conquests must have been made : the war between him and
Demetrius would not have taken place had the Parthians occupied the intervening
provinces. Eucratidas was assassinated when in the height of his power : — H is
then after his death that the decline of the empire commenced. M. Dkguignes,
from the Chinese historians, fixes the epoch of its destruction in the year 125, B. C
The king or kings who may have reigned in the interim are yet unknown — perhaps
they may be brought to light by Col. Ton's discoveries."
The above condensed and critical sketch of the latter Bactrian kings
contains all that is known of them, and leaves us to fill up blanks only
as fresh matter may be elicited through the labours of the antiquarian
in this fruitful field. M. Schleqel felt pride in adding two cogno-
mens to his two kings : Dr. Swinby's coins have already increased
their majesties' titles ; giving to Mknander the common appellation
'•• saviour;" and to his predecessor, in addition to the same title, the
respectable appellation of Philopator, " loving son." This latter title
is of more consequence than might at first be suspected, for unless his
father were of kingly dignity, he would not have heen mentioned : and
it is more than probable that his son succeeded him peaceably. But we
have no knowledge who the father was, since Demetrius is the only
recorded son of Euthydbmus. We may suppose him to be sure a bro-
ther — perhaps a younger one, — a favorite — " a gift of the gods," as
his name implies ; and this might account for the deputation of the
rightful heir to a distant province : hut it is wrong to hazard conjee*
tures upon points of such remote diplomacy !
Digitized by
Google
}6333 Battria* and Indo-Scythic Coin*. <H
Ifys. 6 and 7. — Two square copper coins resembling in form fig. 7
cf plate VII. weight 102 and 121 grs.
Obverse. A figure, apparently female, holding a cornucopia on the
left arm : the other indistinct ; legend in parallel lines, and
evidently Greek, but only partially legible : the word ba
2IAEA2 commences both of them.
Reverse. The Indian Bull with its hump, encircled with the unknown
character. Below, in both coins, the letter sigma, 2, or a
symbol of that form.
One of these coins was found at Machwarra, a small town near the
Satlej river, between Ludidna and Rupar ; the other in the bazar at
Busty, on the road from thence to Simla. Dr. Swinby considers them
to be not only similar, but of the same die. It is not possible to do
more than ascribe them to the Bactrian dynasty generally.
Fig. 8. — This small copper coin, from the neighbourhood of Seha-
ranpur, is classed among the Bactrian coins by Dr. Swine r,
from the similarity of its monogram to that of fig. 4. The
legend also appears Greek : the obverse has a warrior with
a bow ? and the reverse a lion, panther, or singh, which con-
nects it with one class of the Hindu coins.
figs. 9, 10. — I have introduced these two of Doctor Swiney's Bac-
trian- horsemen, or Eucra tides,' coin*, because the head is in
better preservation than usual, and a letter or two more of
the legend can be added to the scanty list hitherto elicited ;
thus on fig. 9, we have 2ATHP MErA . . and on the other
MErA baCiaetC, "the great king// quasi Mahd Raja. As far
as the specimens hitherto discovered can prove it, the no?
minative seems to be used in all the coins of this type, in-
stead of the genitive, as usual on Greek medals : the termina-
tions are also corrupted; all which circumstances tend to
pronounce these coins to belong to the last princes of the
race, as conjectured in ascribing them to Eucratidks.
Fig. 14, is a small coin supposed to have Greek characters, but un-
decypherable.
Figs. 16, 17, 18, are drawings of three small copper coins procur-
ed by Lieut. Burnes at Manikydla, which differ in some
particulars from those already made public, and are on that
account, rather than as leading to any fresh observation, now
inserted. Fig. 16, belongs, from the side figure of the fe-
male, stooping, and the monogram or symbol, to the Ka^
* See Plate VII. and page 314.
2 o 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
41* Btctria* and Indo-Scjtki* Coin* g&C
niska group. Fig. 18, a man sitting dressed in the Brah-
manical dhoti, accords so far with No. 1 of Mr. Wilson's
plate, a gold coin dog oat of the tope at Mamkyala by Ge*
neral Ventura. Fig. 17. is of a novel type, but the coin
was in too imperfect a state to permit an accurate de-
velopment of the figures.
Hindu Coins.
From the coins of Bactria a transition is easily traced through the dark
period of the Indo-Scythian or Buddhist dynasty, to which numerous
coins have been allotted upon such degree of internal evidence as their
appearance affords, to the coins of the Hindu Princes of Central India,
Andkra, Rajputana, Kmumj, Indraprestha, and perhaps M&gadU or
Behar. I have on a former occasion ventured to doubt* whether any
native coin, properly so called, had circulation in India anterior to the
incursion of Alexander. In none of the ancient booksf of the Hindus
is mention made of coined money. The word suvemal or gold, which
occurs frequently in the Purines, is supposed to mean a lump of gold
of a fixed weight, such as is still current in Ava or China. Mr. H.
T. Colkbrooke states§ on the authority of Menu and other authors,
that the suverna (cars ha, arsha, or tolaca) was equal to 16 maskas.
If the masha was as now about 17.4 grains only, this would certainly
make the suverna\\ small enough to admit of a doubt whether it did not
bear some stamp : on the other hand, small lumps of gold called
pkdtang, of a smaller weight and value, and without stamp, are suH
brought from the hills, and passed as cash in the purchase of goods
in the plains. Again, the great analogy which is observed between me
earliest Indian coins introduced to our notice by modern research, and
those of the Macedonian colonists, is a very strong argument in
favor of the supposition that the art of die-cutting was introduced
at that period ; and the employment of Greek workmen may rea-
sonably account for the continuance of Greek legends where other-
wise they would have been little expected. A further direct and incon-
testable proof of their connection is derived from the similarity of the
* Joiiro. As. Soc. I. 394.
t The Raja Taringini, a comparatively modern work, mentions the Unmr, t
Persian gold coin.
% As. Res. V. 93.
§ See Mr. Ravenbhaw'b note, page 266.
|| Major Wilford, and many as inveterate etymologists, might have derived our
English tovereign from this word, had it chanced to have been current at an earlier
period than is assigned by our mint annals for its introduction, namely, Edwaso
IV.'s reign, A. D. 1489.
Digitized by
Google
183&$ B*ctri*n *nd Indb-Styhi* Cob* 4t*>
monograms or symbols ¥181516 upon most of them. I have inserted at
the foot of the present plate such of these as occur in the coins be-
fore us. Most of them may be found on the Greek civic coins of the
Hunterian cabinet at Glasgow ; those upon the genuine Greek coins
are evidently cyphers or compounds of Greek letters ; either numerals
marking the date, or initials of persons connected with the mint.
Monogram 1 appears upon a coin of Demetrius of Syria (plate v.),
and may be compounded of a t> symbolical of Antioch, the place of
coinage : it is No. 67 of Combe's Hunterian Catalogue. Mo*. 2, on
Alexander's coin, (53 of Combe,) may be A, and may stand for one of
the numerous cities of this monarch's name. The third, (plate vii, fig. 1,)
is evidently formed of the Greek letters P E, being perhaps the date (105
of the Syrian *ra, or 206 B. C.)*, subjoined by A, betokening the loca-
lity. The next four (4, 5, 6, 7) occur in the coins of Apollodotus
and Menakder (86, 216, and 326 of Combe). Colonel Ton supposes
the latter two and fig. 9 to be formed of numeral letters, but the
combination of units is pronounced to be inadmissible: 8 and 9 ap-
pear on the coin of the last fiactrian monarch, " the great king."
They are not found in Combe : but the latter may be a combination
of the letters O, T, H andE. 10, 11, and 12, having four prongs
sod the ring below cut open, belong to the supposed Kaniska coin,
sod all the coins of the raja and bull, and raja and elephant type.
These can no longer be interpreted as letters, though evidently imi-
tated from the foregoing. Mon. 13 occurs in one of Colonel Ton's
coins of the same class, with the running figure (13 of 3rd series),
hut it may probably be an imperfect impression of the foregoing
symbol. From monogram 12 to the lozenge form of 14 is but a slight
transition, and thus we pass to a wholly different class of coins, as-
cribed by Col. Ton to the Pandu dynasty; because the inscriptions
are in the same character which is found wherever the Pandit autho-
rity existed ;— in the caves, and on the rocks oiJunagur, Girnar, on
the pillar of victory in Meywar, and on the columns of Indra-prestha
(Delhi) and Praydg (Allahabad).
These coins are decidedly the most ancient of Hindu type which are
known, and yet being of pure gold they are generally in a perfect state
of preservation, and the characters, though unknown, are very clearly
defined; many of them resemble the Tibetan form of Sanskrit. Most of
them may be recognized in the inscriptions (or descriptive titles)
over the sculptures at Mahdbdlipuram, described by Mr. Golmnoham
• If to, this coin should belong to Antiochus the Great, and not A. Tbeos as
■apposed in page 312, from his cognomen Bpiphane*.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
414 Jktctri** anflndo-Scythic CttaT. ^AfC.
in the As. Res. V. page 79 : and as these sculptures are said by tradi-
tion to represent the personages and acts of the Mahdbharmt, the valae
of some of the letters may perhaps be hereafter recovered. In point
of age the coins can only belong to the Maury a, the Sunga, the /Taavi
or the Andkra dynasties of Mr. Wilson's catalogue (315 B. C. to 423
A. D.)
Fig. 15 is copied from a gold coin, presented to me by Captain
Wade, who discovered it near Ferozpdr : it agrees precise-
ly with figs. 5 and 7, of Mr. Wilson's plate; the former of
which, stated to be taken from a drawing of a coin in CoL
MacKenzib's collection, seems to have been reversed by the
artist, to assist the engraver, and inadvertently retained is
that position. Every letter of the legend is identical in the
three coins.
Fig. 13 is from the sealing-wax impression of a coin, belonging
to Dr. Swinbt : it corresponds precisely with No. 6 of Mr.
Wilson's plate, having the tirsul or trident of Siva, in liea
of the bird of Vishnu.
These two coins are of the description just alluded to. They hafe
been found at Agra, Mathura, Ujayin, Ajmir, and even in Bengal. Mr.
Wilson possesses one found in a tank in the Hugl't district. The mix-
ture of emblems on these coins might almost persuade one that they
were forgeries, but that no two have hitherto been seen identically
the same, and it would be manifestly impossible to forge a new die for
each, especially when their price is little beyond the value of the me-
tal. The female on the reverse sometimes sits on a well formed chair
or settee, sometimes in the Indian fashion on a lotus flower, at others
like Duroa on a lion* ; she holds a cornucopia in the left hand, in the
right a scarf or ribband : a glory encircles her head ; her left knee
is bare.
The obverse represents a king clad in a coat of mail, and with sctle
armour on the legs ; where the coin is worn, (as in fig. 15,) the dress
exactly resembles the modern coat and trowsers. The head dress m
fig. 13 has a resemblance to the Sassanian or Persian cap. The left
hand is invariably raised, as if holding a spear : the right is extended
as if placing an offering on a small fire altar. This hand is more clearly
defined in fig. 15, than in any coin of the class I have seen ; and it may
be questioned, whether the action is not rather that of plucking a flower,
for an artist would hardly represent the hand in so hot a position,
were the object beneath a fire altar !
* Vide Col. Tod's plate.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
16&3.J BdcCria* and Indo-Sijthic CoM. 415
; Aft another anomaly in these coins, it may be remarked that the let-
ter* on the left of the prince, in fig. 15, are identical with the Tibetan
trfliteral compound g spy, pronounced as ch or sh, with the inherent
abort vowel a, spya or ska ; this combination forms no word in the TtJ
betan language, but with the vowel sign i (sht) it would signify " ge-
neric" or " general," as fj'^cfo spyi-dpo* (pronounced shi-pon) vice-
roy, or governor general.
Now the Tibetan alphabet, according to Mr. Csoma Koroshy, was
only formed as a modification from the Sanskrit model in the seventh
century of our ssra, up to which period it were difficult to conceive that
the characteristic monogram of Bactria should have been preserved.
The two first letters of the side inscription also resemble the Tibetan
;jj pd, or if the antecedent dot be an r, prd.
On the right hand, in fig. 15, is a standard resembling in some sort
a Roman eagle; it is probably the'GAaufcA, or bird of Vishnu, and if
so, is a proof of the connection of this coin with the ascendancy of the
Vaishnava sects.
Of this peculiar class of coin, the plates in the Asiatic Researches afford
numerous varieties. I now pass to another type, more recent perhaps
by several centuries, but more rare than the preceding. The legends
are here decidedly in the Devandyari character ; yet the devices still
bear a near analogy to their Grecian prototypes : the horseman, the
bull, the lion, the seated figure, are revived with variations of dress and
attitude, but it seems to have been contrary to the feelings or taste
of the country to represent the human face, or perhaps the artists found
themselves unequal to the task. Mythological subjects were better
suited to the Hindus. The bull of Siva, the Singh of Duroa, the
Garura of Vishnu ; Gunesh, Hanuman, and similar devices, predo-
minated until the latest period in the coins of Southern India and
Ceylon* ; or until the progress of Mahomedan conquest interdicted the
privilege of coinage to the tributary Hindu princes.
From the desultory mode in which materials are collected for my plates,
and from a wish to avoid delineating any that have already appeared in
print, it is impossible for me to give a connected train of Hindu coins,
and the student must refer to the plates in the As. Res. vol. xvii, for
more ample information. The medley of types once collected and pre-
served however may eventually afford the means of a proper classifica-
tion, although it cannot be attempted in the present state of our scanty
knowledge.
• See plates III. IV. As. Res. XVII. and Mr. Wilson's remarks on the Ramatom*
to, Qarada-Mudra$, &c.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
41 B 9*rtrien and fndo-Scytkic Cob*. flUa.
Fig. 11 is an unique coin in Doctor Swrmt'a possessianv I nave a
sealing- wax impression, from the sharpness of winch I con-
. - elude the original to be of gold. .
Obverse. A horseman mounted and holding a spear wkk.the right
hand : the horse is ornamented with trappings in the native
style. A curious scroll or symbol appears in front.
Reverse. Siva's bull kneeling in the attitude of the images of Nam-
pi in the temples.. He is also clothed in ornamental trap-
• pinff 8 - Above are characters. which seem to form, the words
4ft w^nz^ Sri Samagri deva in ancient Nagari; the*
written *q is met with in one of the inscriptions deciphered
by Wilford, As. Res. IX. 104. No such name as Sama-
gri deva occurs in the catalogues of Hindu dynasties of Cenjtnl
India or Magadha, but the import of the words majr perhaps
be understood as an honorific appellation, m& signifies
" whole, entire." Were it possible that the fourth letter were
an old form of wi we might ascribe the coin to Samanta den,
the first of the Ajmir princes, who reigned, according to
Wilson, in A. D. 500. But such a conjecture is not wanan-
table. Wilfqrd says, the titles Sri and Deva were assumed
by the descendants of Carna, as " Sri Gabk* D»va*/' &.
We may therefore ascribe this coin to the Andkra-jatqf* or
Andhra-bhritya dynasty, some time anterior to the Moham-
medan invasion.
Fig. 12. — Two copper coins of this die were brought \>f Doctor
J. M. Bramlky, from Nipal, in a collection of the coins
of that country; and I have inserted a drawing of them here,
both as a fair pledge that other ancient Hindu coins are
forthcoming in that hitherto unexplored region, and as
furnishing some very legible characters in a class of com of
frequent occurrence, Jx>th in gold and copper. ffcc Hon or
$ingha on the reverse agrees with fig, 8 : and with fig*} 12
of plate vii. The sitting female figure on the obverse JMf
be identified with, figs. 1, 11, 12, 13 r 14, 16, 17, and 40 of
Wilson, and with the fourth series of Tod ; the cjnracteri
are however of a different class, the * for instance, like that
of fig. 14, in tfce last plate, more resembles the^ J*«pgsjee
form *, and is found on ancient grants and ^sari|^M^V-
tween the 5th and the 12th centuries* The MU^e^rfed
character is noticed by Col. Ton, as predominating i* -all the
inscriptions of the Mauri Princes of Chitore from (8. 465 to
S. 1191) A. D. 409 to 1135.
♦ As. Res. IX. page 104.
Digitized by
Google
Jtur.MStt.tim
BACTRBAN COINS.
^omu^
IMJTi
Ki\\
0mm
i3 EOA*fM,'J
MOWBX&RAMSo
JAW«- -«». -ET
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digiti
zed by G00gle
^£ Vole on Zoology. 417
TV.— Note on the Zoology of the 2nd Part of the Transactions of the
^ Physical Class of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
In India, as in almost every other country of the civilized world,
natural history, and more especially that part termed Zoology, has
been of late years making rapid progress. And surely there is no coun-
try better situated than Bengal for becoming celebrated for the number
and extent of its collections, and the rareness of the specimens which
may compose them. For, fertile as may be the regions of South
America in the productions of animated nature, that field has been
repeatedly traversed by the most celebrated men of science in modern
1'raes; and, many well qualified and observant men, have, at different
periods, favoured the world with their researches, made during a long
residence on that continent. But India has not till now been viewed,
by Englishmen, as the rich mine of the treasures of science it really
is ; antt though foreign nations have sent out able naturalists to travel
through the country, and to stretch forth their hands to all they could
seize in their line of march ; get, the very nature of a travelling
zoologist's occupation is such, as to prevent him from snatching at more
than a few of the gems on the surface of things. He may collect and
preserve ; he may take home and classify : but much is set down ill
haste, much is forgotten ; and he cannot become the observer of
nature and all her secrets : while the manners, the habits, and the
various interesting points of character, only to be developed by a long
and intimate acquaintance with the animals he meets, must be to him
unknown. These can only be known through the labours of men, not
better qualified, but more favourably situated for the matured studies
tf zoology than himself.
Sensible of this hiatus in the labours of travelling naturalists, lovers
of natural history have established menageries and aviaries at home :
to make up, so far as close intercommunion with animals in confine-
ment can make up, for the deficiency of knowlege, felt after all had
been gleaned from books and collections. But natural history must be
pursued through tracks different from those of the casual observer of
wild animals in foreign countries ; or, of the closet naturalist, who
views them in a state of degradation, with broken spirits and ruined
health, the sure concomitants of slavery in the brute as in man. A
true naturalist must go forth into the wilderness. He must follow the
objects of his much-loved science into the depths of the forest, to their
native haunts, with the intent to observe rather than to destroy : and
there, undistracted by other thoughts, and elevated by the magnifi-
cent scenery around him, he beholds their caresses, or their cruelties;
2 h
Digiti
zed by G00gle
418 Note on the Zoology [Ace.
their force or their stratagem ; and feels that nature is now unfettered)
that they, like himself, are free.
How different is the state of mind of the man so situated, from that
of him who only looks through the bars of a dungeon upon the miser-
able animals confined within. One views nature with the eye of a
classifier alone, anxious to find out some petty point of distinction,
some little difference upon which to found a genus ; the other with the
enthusiasm of a lover. One strives to bend her to his system : the
other would embrace her own ; nature to him is all in all, and system
but valued as an interpreter of nature.
Systems, menageries, collections, however, have their value, and
that value is great. To the naturalist of nature they serve, in after-
days, to recal vividly to his mind recollections of the past. To others
they offer a portion of science, that otherwise they could not attain.
Mr. Hodgson, author of six of the sixteen papers in this second
part of the 1st volume of the Transactions of the Physical Class of the
Asiatic Society, unites the advantages of the travelling and sedentary
naturalist. Fixed upon the most stupenduous mountains of the
world, and in a situation of political power that rarely falls to the lot
of the friends of science, he has opportunities of doing great things
for that branch to which he has devoted himself. Much may fairly
be expected from him ; and to do him justice he certainly is not inclin-
ed to be idle.
The first of Mr. Hodgson's papers belong to Ornithology ; the
portion of zoological science, perhaps of all most generally attractive.
The system he follows is that laid down in the 1st volume of the Zoologi-
cal Journal, (a work no naturalist should be without) by Mr. Vigors,
Secretary to the Zoological Society ; and which, though perhaps the
best devised by English naturalists, is replete with the faults of
the MacLeay school. The generic divisions are sometimes founded
upon doubtful or minute characters, and there is occasionally a good
deal of squeezing to make them fit. Whilst, above all, there is obser-
vable in this school an affectation of perfection ; a presumption of know-
ledge; which with the limited acquaintance with nature man must
ever be confined to, appears totally unjustifiable to every one, not
seduced by the language in which its views are detailed ; or willing to
surrender his judgment to such great names as those of MacLbat,
Vigors, and Horbfirld. It is however the less necessary to dwell upon
this, as the circumstance has not escaped the notice and the censure of
some late continental writers : by whom the system has not been esti-
mated so highly as was contemplated by its patrons and founders.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
-1 SHJ] of the second part Pkys. Tram. 'As. Soc. '419
He first bird Mr. Hodgson describes under die name of Aquila
Nipalensis ; and he has noticed the deviation from the type of the
genus Aquila, in the lunated form of the nostrils. There is also an-
other point of deviation in the length of the wings, which he describes
as wanting three inches, or nearly one fourth of the length of the tail.
In the true eagles the wings are equal in length to the tail, " leurs
ailes sont aussi longues que la queue," says Cuvibr ; and it is therefore
not improbable that this may be one of those species which form the
inosculating links between differing genera. Whether or not the species
be a new one, can only be decided on the authority of Mr. Hodgson ;
for he has omitted to state the changes which take place in its plumage,
during its passage from the young to the adult state ; or the probable
age of his specimen. And without these points being ascertained, the
most experienced ornithologist may be mistaken in birds of this tribe.
The Circatus Nipaiensis is rightly referred to that genus. It is not
probable that Shaw has erred in placing the Falco Bacha in the genus
Cymmdis ; distinguished as that genus is from all others of the eagle
kind, by the remarkable characters of its bill. However the Falco
Bacha is said to have been found in India and Java, and Mr.
Hodgson's description of his bird agrees with it in several respects :
nor is it unlikely that an African species should also extend to India.
But then the difficulty still remains as to its being placed by Shaw
in the genus Cymindis ; with the generic characters of which, Mr.
Hodgson justly says, it does not at all agree.
Our author, like all others who have gone before him, seems to be a
good deal puzzled with the family oiLaniada or Laniidce, as it is termed
in his paper. The genus Dicrurus was instituted by M. Vibillot on
account of the forked tail of the species known to him. But the dan-
ger of giving a generic name on so trivial a distinction, soon became
manifested, by the discovery of other species whose tail is not forked.
This, among other things, has contributed its portion to throw the
family into confusion. And Mr. Hodgson, or any other naturalist,
would do a signal service to the cause of natural history by making a
complete monograph of the whole LaniacUe : and (the measure is a
strong but necessary one) fixing the old names or new-naming every
•pedes.
The other bird mentioned, " which bears a strong general but not
particular resemblance" to the former, appears to be the same species
as one sent to the Asiatic Society from Midnapdr by Assistant Sur-
geon J. T. Pbarbon, in February 1830, and which he also referred to
the genus Dicrurus. " I am of opinion/' says Mr. Pbarson in a note
2 h 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4W Note <m tie Zoology [Au*
accompanying some specimens presented to the Society, " that it may
be referred to the genua Dicrurus, near to the Muscicapid* ; and thia
not only from the form of the head and bill ; but on a careful exami-
nation of the feathers at the back of the neck, a few long ones may be
found, more like hairs than feathers, with a small plume at the tip/*
Mr. Hodgson has forgotten to mention these setaceous feathers ; but
they may readily be found in the situation indicated by Mr. Pearson.
After all, however, the bird in question, the slate-coloured shrike,
seems to be an intermediate species, between Dicrurus and Tricophorus ;
the strong dentated bill, and short medial setaceous feathers connect-
ing it with the former, and the wedge-shaped, or rounded tail, with the
latter genus. It may be observed that Mr. Pearson is inclined to
think the species a migratory one at Midnapdr.
In his paper on this subject of migration* Mr. HonosoN remarks ;
" I am led to conclude from what I have observed here, that the mass of the
Grallatoret and swimmers are found in the plains of India, only during the coM
months, for they all arrive in the valley of Nipal from the north, towards and at
the close of the rains ; and all as regularly reappear from the south, upon, or
soon after the accession of the hot weather."
Further on, he says,
" It will be noticed that the Grallatoret which visit us or pass over us, are much
more numerous than the Natatoret; and, unless I am mistaken, observation in
the plains of India would satisfactorily prove that this is a just and decisive indi-
cation of the superior prevalence of wading over swimming birds in that extensive
region. India, I fancy, is too hot for the taste of the Natatoret, a great majority
of which seem to affect Arctic regions, or at least, high latitudes ; I throw out the
remark for canvas and inquiry,"
This observation is agreeable to what we learn of the manners of
these birds in high northern latitudes : and the hint should be taken
by some cis-Himalayan naturalist, who will find the inquiry suggested,
an interesting and not very laborious one. The wild swan was once
seen in Nipal.
The next Zoological paper, the 8th of the part, is on the wild goat
and wild sheep of Nipal. And here again Mr. Hodgson is puzzled
by what has puzzled all naturalists, who have studied these groups of
the Ruminant ia, from Aristotle to Hamilton Smith ; — the line of se-
paration between the goats and the sheep. Now to a common man no
doubt the matter appears easy enough : he knows a goat from a sheep
and vice versd any day; — but the line of separation, in spite of all
this, is so narrow that the ancients considered the latter a hybrid
* On the migration of the Natatores and Grallatores, as observed at Kathmandu,
page 122.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] of the second part Phys. Tram. 421
production of the former ; and even at this day stories of a mixed
prolific breed being common in Russia and America are rather dis-
believed to be true than proved to be false, though reason and
analogy alike condemn a theory so little supported by what we see,
end so contrary to the common received opinions of modern science.
Indeed, were it proved that such a breed is in existence, the fact would
go much farther than to overthrow a mere generic distinction. It
would shew that the established notion of specific differences depend*
ing upon the test of an unprolific offspring, is incorrect ; and, that,
instead of there being two genera of goats and sheep, there is in fact
but one species of the whole. Mr. Hodgson of course leaves the matter
where he found it.
Some uncertainty prevails as to the goat Mr. Hodgson describes
being identical or not with one noticed by M. Duyaucbl. The notice
appears to have been sent to Paris, and it is appended by the
Secretary to the Society to the present article, taken however from
the original manuscript. M. Duvaucbl's specimen, also, was a young
one, and as he has not given it a name, nor yet appended the native
one, it is impossible to ascertain whether or not his and Mr. Hone*
ion's Capra Jhdral are the same. At all events Mr. Hodgson does
not seem to have known of M. Duvaucbl's paper, and the credit of
first bringing this animal to notice properly belongs to him*.
Of the sheep, the Ovis Nayaur, Mr. Hodgson has teen only the female
in the adult state, and the young of the male, and he is consequently
uncertain whether it is a new species. But in a note appended to the
9th article the author says : —
" From much conversation that I had with the Bbotea who brought me the skin
of the young male Nayaur, I now incline to believe that I was mistaken in suppos-
ing there are two species of wild sheep in these regions. The Bharal of one dialect
is probably the Nayaur of another, and the Himalayan wild sheep most likely only
a variety of that widely-diffused species (his Argali ; though I must confess I can-
not reconcile Linn^us or Shaw's descriptions of the horns of the Nayaur."
The Rdtwa deer of Mr. Hodgson, perhaps the Cervus Muntjak of
Pennant, forms the subject of the 9th article. There is little doubt of
this animal being really the Cervus Muntjak, the Kijang, or at least a
variety of that species. Though Mr. Hodgson attaching more impor-
tance to colour than it deserves, thinks, that as
• Mr. Hodgson, in a private note, explains that, " M. Duvaucbl's description
refers to the Ghordl, which all our English zoologists class with the antelopes, be-
cause it has suborbital sinuses and cylindrical horns. Hie latter obvious character
should have prevented its being confounded with the Jhdral, which has angular
boras." — Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4i2 Note** the Zoology 'fAvi.
" In one of Burrow's Supplements it seem* the Cermm M*n$*i is described as of
a greyish brown colonr : if this be just, Oenmt Mwmtfmk wfll eoestknte probably a
distinct species from RAtwa ; and I cannot help thinking that, in such case, the two
ought to be sectionally at least separated from Cenmt ."
The meaning of its being *ectionally separated is not very obvious.
If he means, as is probable, that the Muntjak and its kind are generics!-
ly different from the genus Cervus, he is quite eorreet, and he will find
on reference to Cuvibr that this separation has been already made.
The new genus contains five species, natives of Java, the Phillipinea,
Malacca, Nepal, and several other countries.
But, to return to the author, it is certain that differences of shades
of colour can hardly be a sufficient warrant for instituting a new species,
though perhaps it may, by taking some latitude, a variety ; colonr is
the whole ruminantUe being liable to variation by many contingent car-
camstances, such as climate, season, age, sex, &c. If, therefore,
there is nothing to warrant the measure of separating Mr. Haoesov's
Muntjak, from that of Pennant, but the circumstance of the one being
fulvous and the other greyish brown, the specific separation cannot he
allowed.
But the Cervus Muntjak, sent from Sumatra, is in every instance
of a fulvous, or reddish brown, the colour it would appear, of Mr. Hods-
son's specimens. The individual described in Buffon's supplement
was probably aged, if so the difference may readily be accounted for by
the knowledge of the fact, that as old age comes on, the fulvous is
gradually obliterated by the grey. The thickening of the pedestals of
the horns at the top in the " form a rose," and the meaning of which
Mr. Hodgson " cannot divine," is also merely a sign of age.
Thus there is little doubt of the identity of the Muntjak of Pbnnant,
Bufpon, Shaw, and Hodgson : and there is reason to believe, this
species extends in a continued range, from the eastern Islands to Ni-
pal, through the whole Indian continent. Two horns attached to the
frontal bone are now in Calcutta, which correspond in every respect
with the description of Mr. Hodgson and Sir T. S. Raffles, and
which were found at Jellasur, in the district of Midnapur, province
of Orissa ; and several fawns were brought into Midnaptir in the year
1831. They all died young, before the horns were developed; yet
their general appearance and the form of the cranium left no doubt of
their belonging to this genus.
Mr. Hodgson, however, if he has failed to establish a new species
of Stylocerus (as the genus or subgenus is now called), has cleared up
one point, that relating to the two antlers or projections on the horns.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
k&33.] of the second part Pkfs. Trans. 423
being an accident, or huus natnra, of rare instead of, as was at one
time supposed, constant occurrence. A doubt has been thrown upon
Pennant from this circumstance, which he does not deserve, and
which our author will be glad to have satisfactorily overthrown.
Article XI. is an admirable description of the most splendid speci-
men of all the known species of horn bill, the Buceros Homrai of
Hodgson. To this description nothing can be added, comprising as it
does every minute point, in age, sex, and variety. Four, perhaps five,
species of Buceros may now be considered as belonging to continental
India, and Mr. Hodgson seems to have established the fact of their
all being strictly frugivorous ; and not partially carnivorous, as was
erroneously supposed, from analogy with the Toucan. Indeed there is
good reason to believe that this latter bird has been libelled ; the can-
nibal propensities it has occasionally exhibited having been developed
only in a state of confinement.
An anatomical notice is affixed to the description by Mr. Bramlbt,
a gentleman whose numerous professional avocations are to be regret-
ted as preventing him from devoting zoological talent of no ordinary
standard entirely to scientific pursuits. The peculiarity in structure of
the cranium mentioned by Mr. Br am lb y is the want of motion be-
tween it and the bill. He might also have noticed another ; in
the internal cavity of the bill being almost filled with osseous reticula-
tions, instead of, for the greater part, occupied with membranous
cells, as is the case in most other species of this genus. Mr. Bram-
ut also notices the lax union of the dorsal vertebrae, and in doing so.
touches upon the doctrine of compensation.
Of this doctrine it may be well to say a few words, especially as it
seems to be daily gaining ground among certain speculative, but scien-
tific men, of whom M. M. Chabribr and Audouin among the French,
and MacLbat and Vigors among the English, are at present the ac-
knowledged heads. Their great object is generalization, and the.
natural fondness of mankind for conjecture, their means. Their doc
trine may be stated in a few words.
AH animals have a determinate number of parts, differing only in the
degree of development ; the development of one organ exerting an in-
verse influence upon another.
So much for the ingenious and convenient doctrine of compensation.
But to return to Mr. Bramlbt, who in speaking of the bill of the
Buceros Homrai remarks : —
" lie casket (which a of large dimensions) has also its horny covering, though
somewhat different in structuie, that of the former being laminated and bearing •
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4M Note on the Zoolotf [At*.
dose resemblance to proper horn, while that of the Utter is nmch thinner, of *
fibrous consistence, and nail-like in structure. The edges of the bills, of both
mandibles, for about two-thirds of their length from the point, are horny, but the
surface is so irregular and jagged that their appearance leaves no donbt that much
of the natural structure has been broken off, by the use which the bird makes of itn
bill. In consequence of this when the jaws are close, there is a considerable va-
cancy between the cutting edges throughout the whole central portion of the bOL
In some specimens in Mr. Hodgson's collection the fractures have taken place at
such regular intervals, as to give to those parts the appearance of natural indenta-
tions.
" To entertain this supposition, however, would be erroneous, as there is evident
reason to believe that in a bill which is perfect, the horn by which it is covered
does not extend to its edges, but terminates just before it arrives at these, in a sab-
atance not very unlike solid bone.
" The chief difference from the latter is, that it is exceedingly brittle in its nature,
though it is by no means deficient in compactness.
" That this substance borders the edges of both mandibles in their natural state, is
confirmed by numerous portions which are here and there left in all the specimens
I have examined. There is, also, a distinct line along the bills denoting the ter-
mination of the horn, into this hard structure, which in some individuals is of a red
colour and in others a black."
Now this horny covering of the bill does not appear different from
that of the casque, (or casket, as Dr. Bramley terms it,) in any essential
particular, the structure in both being of a laminated rather than of i
fibrous nature, and the hard callous edging of the bill is common to iH
the genus. In the Homrai it is more manifest perhaps than in some
other species, but it is still more developed in the Rhinoceros Hornbill.
k resembles the enamel-like shelly substance, observable at the hinge
in many genera of bivalve Mottusca, rather than bone, and appears to be
a continuation and hardened folding of the internal lining of the bill,
with which it comes off, or separates, on long maceration in water. On
a careful examination of a bill in this state, it will be found to be not
confined to the edges of the bill, but also to be met with, in a greater
Or less degree, at the gape, and along the central ridges inside the mouth,
both above and below.
The last zoological article in the volume is also by Mr. Hodgson,
and entitled " A description of the wild dog of the Himalaya." The
specific character and name are as follows : —
" Canis Prim a vu s (mihi) the Buansu of the Nip41ese. Habitat, the whole
of the sub-Himalayan ranges from the Sutlej on the west to the Brahmaputra on
the east.
" Specific Character, Wild dog, with si* molars only m tka lower jaw, «
toot, having soled feet, large erect ears, and very bushy straight teal, of t
jangth, deep rusty colour above, yellowish below."
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1633 of ffc second part Pkys. Trans. 425
Mr. Hodgson's object in this paper is to bring to scientific notice a
new variety of dog, and to prove that variety to be, as he terms it, the
Cants prinuevus. Some of his characters, it will be seen in the above
quotation, are generic instead of specific. And the circumstances of
there being six molars in the lower jaw, and of the peculiarities of the
urine and eyes, and in short the whole differences from the common
dog pointed out by Mr. Hodgson, surely so far from proving that the
Budnsu is the Cants prirruevus, the type of the canine race, go very
much in favour of the theory which may be formed by " the querulous
objector," who rejecting Mr. Hodgson's speculations may bei nclined
" to substitute his own ; creating, if he pleases, a new subdivision of
the Digitigrades, characterised by one tubercular tooth behind the great
•carnivorous tooth of the lower jaw."
But to enter fully into this subject would be to exceed the limits
that can be allowed to this paper ; and the more unnecessary, that after
all it would still remain as uncertain as at present. But whatever may
be the result of Mr. Hodgson's speculations, he has certainly given in
the Budnsu a new animal to zoology.
Something should be said upon the subject of the plates and the
nomenclature. Of the former it may be remarked, that they are consi-
derably better than the zoological ones of the last part (indeed they
could not be worse, it may fairly be presumed), though they are much
inferior to others in the present part. They are evidently fac-similes of
the drawings made on the spot chiefly by native artists, and it would be
hazardous to deviate from these even for the sake of pictorial improve-
ment. It is matter of congratulation that Mr. Hodgson has not fol-
lowed the system of nomenclature, to which it is to be feared too many
men of real genius have lent their names, that of calling a production
of nature after the surname of an individual. It is a practice which
must tend to the confusion of science ; and which becomes ridicul-
ous by the ill assorted union of a barbarous cognomen with a classical
termination. One great reform of Linnaeus was the substitution of a
trivial name for a description, or titulus ; but it was intended that that
name should be descriptive in itself, so that the mind might be guided
by the ear. True it is that in some instances even Linnaeus forgot his
own rules ; but the errors of great men should be a beacon to their
less talented fellows, rather than an example or an excuse. A com-
pliment of this kind may display an amiable, a grateful, or an admiring
disposition, when paid to our friends, or to public benefactors ; but,
this is not a subject in which they should be exhibited, for science is
surely diverted from its proper channels when made to administer
merely to private friendship, or to public applause.
2 i
Digiti
zed by G00gle
426 Not* on the Zoology, &c. - JA**
Mr. HoDGiotfs plan, however, is not without objections, though
infinitely superior to that deprecated above. Native names are offceaV
applied to a large class of sometimes very different animals, and vary
in every district : and a name derived from the habitat is objectionable
where that habitat extends through a wide range. The Parra Chime**
sis, or Sinensis, for it has been called by both names indiscr iminat e ly ,
has been found at Tamluk j and the Buceros Gingianus is a native of
Midrtapur.
By the above notice it will be seen that the zoological papers in
this part are most oreditable to Mr. Hodoson in every point of view ;
exhibiting as they do, his knowledge, research, and industry, in the
most favourable light : and it is to be hoped that his example will be
followed by the many men of talent which India can boast of, and whs
have time at their disposal. Among those who have already distin-
guished themselves in thi3 way, may be mentioned Messrs. Hodgson,
Benson, Grant, Hutton*, and several anonymous contributors of
articles in the " Gleanings in Science," and " Journal of nra
Asiatic Society." We may fairly anticipate that their exertions will be
redoubled by the example set before them by Mr- Hodgson ; nay, we
may surely in these times, and under a government, the head of which
is so justly celebrated for the anxiety he has ever evinced to promote
the cause of science, indulge a hope that officers, duly qualified
for the purpose of investigating the productions of nature, win be seat
upon missions, likely to afford facilities for the purpose, into remote or
little frequented countries. Our expeditions, hitherto, have not been
remarkable for the scientific talent they have displayed, though the
countries of Java, Birma, Tibet, Siam, and Chira PunjS, aferd the
most valuable fossil remains of a former, and the most curious specimens
of the living world. An amusing instance of the Efciglish-Indian method
of pursuing scientific inquiries, is to be met with in the expedition
sent by Major Burnet to collect fossils on the site of Dr. CaAw*usn •
collections ; in which the exertions of that gentleman, remarkable as
he is for his zeal in the cause, were frustrated by the mctofhk
having nobodv but an Apothecary at his disposal, who was so little con-
versant with 'the subject, that though " the ground was every where
Btrewed with fragments of petrified bones and trees, he unfortanatety
fell in with nothing Worthy of notice." •■ He seems," says the Edi-
tor, " to have looked for skeletons in a more perfect state, and to have
imagined that such had been collected by Dr. Graw>urd, which is far
• To thia gentleman the author of the present notice owes his thanks for some
specimens of a apecica of VtUvata and eggs of AmpuUario / and his apologies ttt
not having noticed them before.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1835.) ] Extraordinary Fall of the Barometer. 42f -;
from being the case*" It is really deplorable die maaner in whiek
natural history has been neglected in India : and justly has it been
remarked that we know more of the animals of Africa than of Bengal,
a country that has been so long in our possession ! France created
her magnificent work on Egypt and its productions during a warlike
occupancy of a few months : England after a peaceable possession of
India of many times the number of years, has not, under the patronage
of her Government, done enough to fill a single volume. J. T. P.
V.— Note on the extraordinary Fall of the Barometer during the Gale of
the 2\st May last. — By Jas. JVinsep, See. #c. ^7.
In the meteorological register for May I noticed the great fall in the
Barometer which took place previous to and during the severe gale that
did so much damage at the mouth of the river tiooghly : I have
since been favored with an extract from the register of the barometer
kept on board the H. C. Ship Duke of York, one of the numerous
▼easels wrecked or stranded along the Hijelee coast. This ship lay
apparently in the line of greatest force of the gale, and the de-
pression experienced in the barometer, confirmed as it is by the indi-
cations of a sympiesometer also on board, give us a terrible proof of
the intensity of the storm : the fall in Calcutta was three-quarters of
ai inch ; at Saugor it appears by the following note, for the authentic
city of which I can vouch, to have been upwards of two inches !
M Mj dear Sir,
44 It it but now that I am able to forward you the particulars of the fall of the
mercury during the late gale. They are as follow i —
inch- Ther.
Tuesday, 21*t May, 1833, & a. if. The Barometer stood at, 29.09 80
9 „ 28.67 80§
10 „ 28.00 80
11 „ no mercury in sight in the tube*, 26,30 80 -
1130,, mercury re appeared, 26.50 80 ,
Noon, ..., 27.00 79$
4p.m 27.50 79
8 , 28.00 80
Midnight, 28.60 80|
Wednesday, 22nd.... 4 a. m 28.20 81
8 „ 28.30 82
Noon, ...*... 28.60 84
"The times of the changes are copied from those set down almost immediately
after the gale, of course from recollection. Some of the lower altitudes of the
mercury, also, may be more or less incorrect, having been below the range of
the index.
" The oil in the sympiesometer retired completely into the bulb when the mer-
c*ry in the barometer disappeared, and rose again a little before it. 'The mer*
• W« prawn* this mutt have been below 9&50 inches.— Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4$8 Climate of Singapur. [A00.
cury in the barometer did not, after Tuesday night, or rather Wednesday morn-
ing, act as it should have done, which was found to be owing to some water
having got down upon the leather bag and loosened it from the wood, and so>
having permitted the escape of the mercury." W. T. D.
The severity of this hurricane fell on Kedgeree and Saugor. It was
not felt at Balasore. Should simultaneous observations have been made
at Midnapdr, or elsewhere within its influence, they will prove useful in
tracing its course.
I take this opportunity of recording the observations made du-
ring the storm of the 7th October, 1832, which were delayed at
the time in expectation of receiving further information such as
should enable me to map the progress of the storm, but in vain, as I
was only favored with coincident observations at Ghazipur, which place
may be esteemed quite out of the influence of the phenomenon, although
a slight fall of 0.1 10 inch is perceptible in the register. The first
column in the table below is derived from the log of the ship London,
Captain Wimble, which, it may be remembered, of all the ships then
running up the Bay, experienced the effects of the gale in the severest
manner, being dismasted and nearly destroyed. This gale however
fell far short of the recent hurricane.
Range qf the Barometer during the Gate of the 7th October, 1839.
On board the Lon- A , r».i«i»»«
Date. Hour. 30^^^.8603^ S? u £j h
U>W>ET* 32*.Farh.
inches. inehet.
6th 8 A. m. 29.70 cloudy weather, 29.76 rainy, N.E. 2943
Midnight, 29.50 squall* and rain. 2949 gale E.
7th 8 a. m. 29,40 ditto, N. E. 2945 ditto, rain, E. 29.73
10 a. m. strong galei, E.N.E. 2942 increasing, E.
Noon, 2&90 tacreaafng, _ 29.41 shifted to S.W.
4 p.m. 2840 fresh gales E. by N. 29*20 maximum force, 294S
" - -- "" "" a hurricane, ""*■"' ~ ~ J "
emendous
wind shift
W. and blew with
6 p.m. 9840 a hurricane, 2942 moderating, S.W.
8 p. m. 2740 tremendous hurricane, ditto, S. W.
9 p. m. 28.10 wind shifted to S.
10 p.m. 2840 increased violence, 2944 ditto, S. W. 29.71
12 p. m. 29.00 more moderate,
8tb 6 a. m. 29.30 moderating. S.W. 9946 strong wind, S.W.
Noon, 2940 strong gales, high sea, 29.73 abated, N. W.
9th 6 a. m. 2940 strong breezes, S.W. 29.75 cloudy, S. E. 29.71
At Bankura (by the Met. Register published in the last No.) the fall of the
VI . — Climate of SingapUr^ L »
The following abstract tables of the Thermometries! and Barome-
trical range for six years at Singap&r were drawn up by Captain C. E.
Davis from his own daily observations, and were presented to the Asia-
tic Society in the year 1827. The barometer is not corrected to the
freezing point, neither are the hours selected capable of shewing the
diurnal oscillations of the pressure ; but in all other respects the tablet
are very regular, and form a valuable addition to our meteorological
information.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18330
Climate ofSmgap&r.
49^
ift &« K* i£» Q o* =>' x oc 3) c£ InI <d *>^
tv nkkXuXui^kkkk Its,
8
NNKQCWNNNKKNS
la
lO
Is
1 **Xt>*f>.b«t>.ts,t>tt>.tN.t<%tN.
is
5
<
o*c4«^cofe?eeo-<j*!T34si
50
• ITS
• X
eo
=
o
I
e
e
I
33£gs*g££g££s s HstasstfatiiMtf s
££8£g&gg&fe££ s Isafe&ax^s'x^ga £
<o M
<
*o«5'vb»s!2*3ox'c?sa>t^^
s
ifj » x* x* ?o £; oi o* ?» ci oi x
t^t^t^t^XXXXXX^S
l<
«XCW O^X^Cl — 0*
evt^XXXXXXXXXfc^
Ci
©
X
££s'S«l3S«lS£8$8
1"
MKA<P^ •-• «• lO X 0* X m Si — .{OX3lWi0 5C5)N m
—.■^•X'O<O0'*«O5O~X
x ■«* <s c> o o» to ■©
f «s -«t irf to to irf <6 to *q o rji & co" -* ' *o tv £*; c> x i p -* tC to id »^>
$88SSSS388g°3
888888883888
3S233&S33S33
8888888888gi8
g£33 x .x'£x 3 gx-x'x*
8S88888*l88cl8
s
8S888888SS88
8
8 5i 8 8 e* c* W 5J 8 7* cm 8
C5 — P0ls.ON.tDrf^1'X»02S «0
x o\ X X X X X X X X X X X
8 8 ci 8 8 8 & 8 5i o* c* 8 I 8
oiOL'i««i'ioxo-)«i'x
I Ci C* C> Qfi 35 01 Ci OS 3> Ci ss a
ICicicicisiCCiCiCsoiCiSi
c*ctc*c*cic*c*c<c*c*cict
8
OOCi0^3V3J3^cici3i*3i3>
CO 00 C* C« C* C* 0* C» 0* Ci 0* O*
ft si 9 C Oi ?' 7> C< O O O) Q
C*CtC*?0CiO*C*Oirocec»C«
a
OOCCi
c'ooo'occi iasc'oi
eo co oo co c* co ci re ro co co c*
o ft 3 1 3- j.ftaqasj Ci 3*
88888888888 £*
5
^"*5:$t50XX3!flX
OOfflOi Si 3> Ci c* OS © 3: Ci
cococ*&8:cci8o*co88
ian
XXXXxXXCiSiXXOi
888888888888
Si ci Si Si 3: ©" 3i Ci ci 3> 35 Si
c*c*cic*c»o*c*Ci?nc*c<c»
C*©SSXS>C2~ce*r5*2— '^P
Ci Ci X 3. X Ci Ci Si 3i 3> C. Ci
S
^3>^(0(?»X'^'^'iOr^iO-t
OS Ci Cj Ci C> 3- 3. c- c; ; Si -< 3>
c4 oh c* 5* £» oi 7* ci 5* 5* 5* >?*
S Ci S Ci 3i 6t X j
88?S8i88'8S*888S
888888888880I 18"
4i£s<S^^<^o^;o
• — * 3 4; C a
a a -= •> * »rj-s
S 4»f O0S 5 "5 3 ? u o «
4 r *s<a^^<^ozQ
Digiti
zed by G00gle
480
CfitoUe of Smfap&.
[Aua.
•ffldadci*' to* e* c" ©>' *C •»
a
9
o
iff" 30 ts" — " c N." O Is" iff} © 0C *6*
ts.tN.t^XXtS.ts.t^t^Xt>,t>.
to* •» o" oi" ^ x" oi at" to* ae »v ^
30*
»S
CO
«ci'*c>ii6if"^jiOie' ,( T^teo
vi
0.
.IT)
cCQCadxaoxxaTcoxaSSi
en
a©c6xxxxxx"Xxxao
D
o
o
Jls&lgS&SgSS
'5
S£££££gfeg3£S
• *
<
KKKNOOXXXXXKN
©*
to to x x" ci ?* — -" — *?» x* o
N.ls.Kt>.t^XXXXXtxt>*
I*
a"
. ^te*,?*^ _ O* iff) «
o
£
^-*t«i3-atsXX3J:
rvxxxxxxxxxxoo
[5
I' ©> ** ** _«ototoc***avkato
x'x'xxx'xX&x'x'xx
«'CXX X iff! Ci O M tp
tAN .•tio^aoteo .Gr-
iffs iff) to" to to go' *sl to to k to" »o
C»e*«^>M^KKe0l9N<)
S3
888888888888
xxxxxxxxxaoxaS
88888888888g[
XXcte^N.frN.XXXXX^xJ
8888>»8888888
I
3£Sx»S33!SS$£5
88888888=.
to .
888888888888
|88888?;*88888
■
-
1888888888888
888888888888
§3S3§S3S;'38fe£
8888S888gig!88
333888888883
8SSS8&^8SS38
883388888888
338S88**?,
be o
la
» ss
888888888888
ci dj © ; ci si c". 6 ; o" & 85 oj o
cn (?« ?* 8 5* t* ?* & 5* S ?« 8
S S o? cr" x' c c; ci e? * o» 8
888888888888
888888888888
si**
4r4a
e.*
J J
5 -= = r - c »
s
'iff
2 ti -2
Sg$8$feS$£888
|8888888?i?l8:
888888888
. - E
-E4
■ Pio
fed
f
Digiti
zed by G00gle
I838i]
Climate o/Sinyapdr.
4M
I 09 f . . . . . I *©
lo I I»
1^
I
| o» I
NNNNNNNIsNNNN I r>» NSNNNNNNNNNN
<o*
I I
itft<«iOenOtd<£<OC>.<£»ACO
I CDODOOCDODaOCOOOOD QO 00 CO
18
»^ qo <o ao <o <s «» 90 ao »>j <g 3; *»
000000000000000000000000 J 00
I t>.«>»aoaoaoaoooaoaot>»QOt > »
S* iO <Q t>! d *>1 W? iQ* I? d (A (O ' o
COQOCOaOOOCOOOCOOOQOQO I CO
aOQOODQOQOQOCOaOaOQOOOOO loo
O. t^ CO QO CO 00 C
"83
COVCOCMCO^^^OO^ «© aq
©«^©cocMHd?o?oco-^cn
QoaoaoooaocoaocooOoocot^
K. • A0D<ONN"<<e <*<O*O9kG0 { Of
cm ddeoeo*2:X2ldSS2£iSi 2!
CO •>* *^ CD CO 00 00 00 CO CD CO CD CD loo
s
as
J
1
coencao^ocn^cocoocM
coaoaoQOQOoOaoQOaoaoooao
s
cnw<o<c^jC*3cr>eieo<oe«3Kj
oocoooaoooooooaooocoxQO
Is
'no *
^ co <© en r* •-« ^co^o^co,
ddt>laor*en©en»^dd'f>
t>» *>. r>» r>» *x tx oo,i>» i>» r^ *>. t»
• re
HMiAOI(OO)V)>Q<Oa0<OK
dddt^t^enddt^ddd
oq
•;
i ioow«HO»N«o2si2|
co ojooooooGOcocoaooqoqaq
dendcn^ddc^enencncn
«n««nnnnn»> cm cm
CO
NsnNMMn«nooN
0^00,0000,00000000000000,00
en en en en en en en en en en en en
(N(NN(N(N(NM(NiN(N6lN
51
d
8
cncnoqaoaooocoenoococn
cncncDcoaocDcoaoQDQOOoao
oqoqoOQOooooaoooaqaococn
S'ddendddden^enen
CM CM CM NNNWN CM CM CM^
s
m
I
2
I' ent>»^i«ocM»o»oao»03'»oen
ocnocncncnencncnencncn
oJenocncncncnencncncncn
yaCMiQCMCMCMCMCMCM CM CM CM
I CO CM CM CM CM. CM CM CM CM «
I
oocneMt>»ioQoenenO?£
-«©©©cnen©©cncn©©
© © © d en en d d en en © ©
eO co ?o co cm CM eo eo cm fr»y>cO
» co ao <o CO «^ *ti ©
» en en en en en on, c>
• _•_•_• ^ ^ ^
I CM CM CO
> -- «* .' *>
> en en
i en en
1CMCM
OS
rs
*i_
6
s
^^ ©
cna>cn
Cn en en
CM CM CM
00©
co.cn
«<* co © © en en cm
ao en en en co co en
en en en en en cn~ ck
CM CM CM CM CM. CM CM
§
©<©<©**CM©eO<©»{?coeo<©
©encncncncncnencncncncn
a»>0'^•©oocncM^•CMl-^-*^*
o} en en en co So en, a6 en en en en
cndencnenenencnenendjcH
CMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM
| S j£8SScn , £88gSS§
^■(o^^i^coenoo«^CMf~4t^co
enencnenaqoocoenenenenco
dddddendcncncncnen
OICMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCMCM
s
r ri
illCfS*JJ.||l
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4m
Stars observed with the Moon at Nistrahdd,
[Ad*.
*VII. — Culminating Stars observed with the Moon at Ndsirabdd. By Lien**
Colonel Thos. Oliver, &c.
Date.
Stars.
No. of
wires.
Sidereal Time
of Transit.
Intervals ia\
sidereal time.
February 16th, 1831,
3)'s 1st border,
a Ceti,
5
5
H. M. 8.
58 52.0
2 53 26.4
h. m . a.
+1 54 34.4
March 21st, 1831,..
a Ononis,
}> '8 1st border,
a Geminorum,
a Canis min * . . .
fi Geminorum,
5
5
5
5
5
5 46 01.8
6 34 33.1
7 23 490
7 30 27.6
7 34 58.4
— 48 313
+0 49 15J
55 543
1 00 253
March 22nd,
a Ononis,
5 I 5 46 fll.fi
— 1 48 343
a Geminorum,
a Canis min
D 's 1st border,
5
5
5
7 23 48.9
7 30 27.6
7 34 36.6
10 47 7
04 09.0
September 14th. ..
a Scorpii,
4
5
16 19 04.7
— 1 17 544
]) *s 1st border,
17 36 58.9
November 12th,....
})*8 1st border,
fi Aquarii, ••.... ....
5
5
5
5
21 15 55.0
21 22 40.8
21 33 52.4
21 37 43.7
+0 06 45.8
17 57.4
21 48.7
No. 2575,
2586
November 13th,.. ..
fi Aquarii,
5
5
21 22 41.1
22 04 25.6
22 07 32.9
— 44 513
INo. 2643,
03 073
}*s 1st border,
February 8th, 1832,
a Arietis,
5
5
3
5
1 57 42.4
— O 24 44.6
D's 1st border,
No. 293,
2 22 26.4 1
2 35 51.9 -f-0 13 25.5
4 26 17.6 2 03 51.2
a Tauri,
| *w^
February 10th, ....
a Arietis, • . . . •• ••••
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
1 57 42.2 1—2 18 213
No. 375
3 18 03.7 ' A h7 sua
383,
3 24 29.9
51 33 €
392,
3 30 44.8
4 16 03.5
4 19 04.4
4 26 17.1
45 18 7
}) 's 1st border,
No. 571,
+0 03 00*
10 13*6
a Tauri,
March 9th,
D's 1st border,
y Orionis,
5
5
4 57 29.9
5 16 073
-LA 1ft 374
March 10th,
a Tauri,
5
5
5
5
5
5
4 26 173
5 23 25.3
5 32 16.8
5 46 04.5
5 59 223
6 02 04.5
1 — 1 33 05.0
ft Orionis,
£
35 57.0
27 053
a . •
13 173
}) 's 1st limb,
No. 768,
+0 02 423
March 12th,
a Tauri,
5
5
5
4 26 17.0
—3 39 23.1
7 Orionis, . . ?
5 16 07.1
5 46 04.7 1
2 49 33.0
2 1Q 3S.4
fi Geminorum,
J) '8 1st border,
5
7 35 01 9 30 383
8 05 40.1 I
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.7
Stars Observed with the Moon at Ndsirdbad.
43*
sr Tfc*.
Stars.
No. of
Wires.
Sidereal time of
Transit.
Intervals in
Sidereal time.
April 8th,
i
m Geminorum,
a Canis min,
Geminorum,
Vs 1st border,
No. 989,
5
5
5
5
5
H M. 8
7 23 52.2
7 30 30 2
7 35 01.6
7 46 20.6
7 56 20.7
H. M. 8.
— 22 28.4
15 50.4
11 19.0
+ 10 00.1
May 7th,
))'s 1st border,
No. 1197,
a Leon is,
5
5
5
9 29 32.9
9 51 20.2
9 59 25.5
+■ 21 47.3
29 52.6
May 9th,
a Hydrae,
5
5
2
5
5
9 19 20.0
9 59 25.6
11 15 11.0
11 20 30.5
11 36 38.7
— 2 01 10.5
a Leonis,
1 21 04.9
No. 1338,
J *8 1st border
No. 1369,
05 19.&
+ 16 08.2
Jane 6th,
Leonis,
D 's 1st border,
a Virginis,
4
5
5
11 40 29.3
11 57 185
13 16 22.1
— 16 49.2
+ 1 19 03.6
Jane 7th,
No. 1465,
5
5
12 33 09.7
12 48 03.3
— 14 53 6
3>'s 1st border, ......
October 1st,
J)*s 1st border,
Aquarii,
5
5
18 21 28.1
21 22 44.6
+ 3 01 16.5
Norember 1st, ....
Aquarii,
5
5
5
5
5
21 22 44 1
21 27 21.2
21 30 47.7
21 57 10.9
22 48 23.4
— 04 37.1
J) 's 1st border,
7 Capricornis,
a Aquarii,
a Piscis aust,
+ 03 26.5
29 49.7
1 21 02.»
Norember 29th,. . . .
Aquarii,
5
5
5
21 22 44.4
21 56 44.8
22 48 22.8
— 34 00.8
>'s 1st border, .... s .
a Piscis aust,
+ 51 38.0
March 1st 1833,
a Tauri,
5
5
5
1 5
5
4 26 20.4
5 16 103
6 19 03.0
6 30 18.2
7 23 56.6
— 2 03 57.8
y Orionis,
No. 804,
1 14 07.9
11 15.2
J> 's 1st border,
a Geminorum,
1+ 53 38.4
March 28th,
Tauri, '•
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5 15 43.5 ' — 52 50.4
No. 684,
5 27 393
6 04 47.1
6 08 33.9
6 28 03.3
6 33 39.1
6 54 12.0
7 23 56.1
7 35 05.2
40 54.6
775,
03 46.8
D's 1st border,
No. 820,
+ 19 29.4
25 05.2
831,
872,
45 38 1
a Geminorum,
1 15 22.2
1 26 313
March 30th,
a Geminorum,
3
No. 967,
5
5
5
5
5
7 23 56.0
7 35 05.1
7 45 54.8
8 14 19.6
8 30 07.0
— 50 23.6
39 14.6
28 243
D 's 1st border,
No. 1048,
•f 15 47.4
a *
zed by GoOgle
484
Chemical Analyses.
£AuO.
Date.
Stars.
No. of Sidereal time of
Wires. Transit.
Intervals is
Sidereal tune.
March 31st,
a Canis min.
3 Geminorum, ......
No. 1130,
} 's 1st border, ......
a Leonis, ...
No 1222,
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
H. M. S.
7 30 33.4
7 35 05.2
9 09 396
9 17 053
9 59 29.1
10 07 43.2
10 12 51.6
H. M. 8.
— 1 46 3L9
1 42 00.1
07 25 J
+ 42 23-8
50 37.9
No* 1232
55 463
April 27th,
No. 1097,
5
5
5
5
•
— 07 323
}) *s 1st border
No 1122,
+ 09 #7 J
1130,
12 463
April 28th,
No. 1171,
5
5
5
5
5
&
5
7 32 143
9 36 21.9
9 49 14.4
9 57 05.0
9 59 28.8
10 24 01.2
10 40 29.1
— 2 24 50 J
1175,
1193,
Jf 's 1st border
a Leonis,
No. 1254,
20 431
07 50*
+ 02 233
26 563
1284,
43 24.1
April 29th,
a Leonis,
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
9 59 28.6
10 24 01.2
10 52 05.6
10 55 08.8
11 08 42.1
11 12 31.7
11 15 13.2
— 55 403
No. 1254
1303,
> 's 1st border,
No. 1328,
SI 073
03 033
+ 13 333
1334,
1338
17 223
20 04.4
April 30th, ........
a Leonis,
No. 1371,
1/3 Leonis, .... ......
5
5
5
5
5
9 59 28.8
11 37 173
11 40 32.9
11 51 189
12 11 22.5
— 1 51 50.1
14 013
10 46.0
J 's 1st border, ......
l No. 1415,
+ 20 033
N. B. The numbers in the column headed " Stars" refer to the Catalogue of the
London Astronomical Society.
Any of your readers who may hare had observations of Moon Culminating
Stars corresponding with any of the above, will confer a fevor on me by publish-
ing them in your valuable Journal.
VIII. — Chemical Analyses. By Jas. Prinsep, Sec, SfC,
1. Three specimens of toil from sugar-cane fields. ^T»*
The first was from a village called MotMon the Sarjv, ten miles north
of the bank of the Ganges at Buxar. The other two were from soils
on the south bank of the Ganges near the same place. Nos. 1 & 2 are
represented as requiring irrigation, and No. 3, as sufficiently retentive
of moisture to render it unnecessary. There is a substratum of kankar
• This evening I had no observations of well known Stars to determine the er-
ror of the Chronometer and Instrument : but the Intervals may, I think, be de-
pended on.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
18MJ Ch*mic*l Anafysa. 43$
throughout the whale oi that part of the country, and to some mixture
of thia earth with the surface soil the fertility of the latter is ascribed :
the cane produced is of small size, but it yields a pretty rich juice i by
the native process each maund of juice affords six seer of gur.
100 parts of each sort treated simultaneously gave the following
results:
No. l.No. *. No. &
Hygrometrie moisture, on drying at 212° 2.5 2.1 3.6
Carbonaceous and vegetable matter, on calcination, . . . . t . 1.8 2.1 4.0
Carb. lime from digestion in nitric \ , K ^ „ , •aw*. „a \i* n a a o
acid and precipitation by carb. pot J t No ' 3 alonc eff ^csced,)1.6 0.6 3.9
Alkaline salt dissolved, • ,.. 1.0 1.1 03
SOex aad alumina, 94.1 24.1 88.2
100.0 100.0 100.0
The earths were not further examined, but the two first consisted
chiefly of sand, whereas the third was somewhat argillaceous. All
three were of a soft fine-grained alluvium without pebbles : the analysis
confirms the qualities ascribed to each of the specimens.
2. Slaty anchracite from the hills south qfFatehpur in the Hoshang&bAd ##-
trict, Nerbudda ; transmitted to Government by Captain J. B. Ousesey.
A heavy dull slaty coal, splitting into laminae marked with ferrugi-
nous oxide ; colour brownish grey, inclining, where rubbed, to the lustre
of graphite : streak brown : specific gravity 1.880.
Exposed to a red heat, burns without flame, and leaves a very
copious red ochreous ash. It is of a poorer description than most of the
Indian coals, although evidently connected with the same deposit as the*
Tma or BurhandM coal, included in the table published in the
Gleanings, vol. iii. p. 283, and described further in page 293 ;— which
left only 15 per cent, of ash. Richer coal doubtless accompanies these
upper shales. Captain Ouskley has traced the deposit farther south to
ftsumf near Bhawergarh, but no specimens have yet been furnished from
the latter place. The composition of the Nerbudda coal is as follows :
Water, separated on sand-heat, 3.5
Volatile matter, not inflammable, 10.5
Fixed charcoal, 22.0
Red earthy residue, 64.0
100.0
3. Peat of the Calcutta AUmrium, duo up from 30 feet Mow the surface, at
the Chitpur Lock-gate*.
Composition— Volatile matter, principally aqueous, £2.ft
Fixed carbonaceous matter,. „ 16.7
Red ash,.,., .,.,..,.,, 21.3
100.0
2 k 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4$6> Chemical Analyse*. fAra.
4. BeUpfSt. John's CaikedVml, Caicutt:
The great bell of this church, whose jarring and discordant sound
has more than a million times reminded the neighbourhood of its crack-
ed condition, has at last been removed, and a new bell is about to be
founded to supply its place, under the superior skill of an eminent Engi-
neer officer. The metal of which the old bell was composed turns out to
be of a very brittle nature, and it is not surprising that it should have
cracked (as recorded) under the effects of a zor-se-tan injunction from
the delighted minister to the sexton, when it was first set up : it has
a specific gravity of 8.887, and consists, in a hundred parts, of —
Copper, 67.0
Tin, 25.0
Zinc, 8.0
100.0
5. Ancient Copper Spear-heads, from Agra,
An article in one of the English journals of science, some months
ago, having mentioned, that on analysing ancient weapons of copper,
found in Germany, the metal was found to be hardened with tin* ;
I was induced to examine some of the ancient spear-heads, which
are frequently dug up in the neighbourhood of Etdwa, and are refer*
red by the natives to the period of the Mahdbhdrat war. Some of
these presented by Mr. Cracroft to the Benares Lit. Soc. are describ-
ed in the Oriental Magazine, for December, 1826.
Three of them were examined : the exterior colour of all was that of
unmixed copper.
No. 1. An arrow head, (so called) broke with a purple granular frac-
ture : spec. grav. 8.459 at 85°.
No. 2. A similar weapon, broke with less facility, and had a better
grain : spec. grav. 8.801.
No. 3. A spear-head, or kind of sword-blade, true copper colour and
texture : tough : spec. grav. 8.835.
Very slight traces of tin were discovered on solution in nitric acid,
but not ponderable, and rather proceeding from slight impurity of the
metal worked up than from intended mixture — no traces of silver or
lead were found. The difference of specific gravity was perhaps due to
the brittle texture of the first specimen, and to the sword-blade
having been fashioned under the hammer.
6. New Patent Sheathing Metal for Ships.
A patent has lately been taken out in England, for a cheap marine
metal or metallic sheathing, stated to be compounded of lead, antimony,
and mercury, which seems to have succeeded iu the only object which
* Brandb's Journ. xx. p. 296.
Digitized by
Google
185$.] Chemical Analyses. 49T
ever could have been aimed at by its inventor ; that of galling those who
were foolish enongh to put their trust in it. The following facts give
authentic testimony of the worthlessness of the invention : —
" The Renown, a new ship built at Port Glasgow, her first voyage to India, was
sheathed with this metal ; she had scarcely been at sea a month before the sheath-V
ing showed a rough and unclean appearance like a piece of wood which had
been long in the water, but without the grass to it, and this kept going on worse
and worse : and it was observed from the bowsprit, when the vessel pitched, that
in many places it hung from the bottom like pieces of rags ; in some places large
pieces were entirely gone, and what remained shewed every symptom as if it
would soon follow, which it did : on examination of the pieces which came off*,
they appeared spotted, as if oxidizing fast into small holes ; by the time the ship
arrived here many hundred sheets were gone from the bottom, and what was:
left as far as could be seen was very unclean."
The metal in fact is nothing but a soft pewter, consisting of 95 parts
of lead, and five of tin mixed with some antimony. Its specific gravity
of 11.130 corroborates this analysis. No trace of mercury could be dis-
covered by heating it in a retort to a temperature at which this metal
would have risen in distillation.
The invention may have been suggested by an American patent taken
out in London in 1831 for a sheathing metal of ziuc and copper, com-
bined in the proportions of 95 zinc to 5 copper. This compound,
although superior to the pewter on account of its stiffness, would
probably be liable to corrosion much more rapidly than copper ; the
inventor however states that the addition of a small portion of copper'
greatly diminishes this liability, and adapts it well for the sheathing
of ships and other purposes.
Zinc by itself corrodes very rapidly in a damp climate. A remark-
able instance of this was witnessed not long since, in removing some
slabs of spelter which had been stored on the floor of a godown belong-
ing to Messrs. Cockbrbll and Co. The lowermost slab was converted
into a solid white substance throughout, apparently crystalline in its
structure; specific gravity 3.0. On heating in a test tube per se it
disengaged much water and became yellow ; it dissolved with moderate
effervescence in nitric acid. It was therefore a hydrated carbonate of
zinc, or perhaps rather a mixture of hydrated oxide and carbonate,
agreeing closely with the mineral from Bleyberg in Saxony, described
by Smithson* as hydrous carbonate, a sub-species of calamine, which
he states to be a stalactitic formation. This is a remarkable instance
of the formation of a natural insoluble mineral by artificial, though
unintentional, means.
* Thomson's Chemistry, iv. p. 483.
Digitized by
Google
4t« Mi$tell*n**s. {AV%.
7. ArgmrtVirom Gain* from tht Bar &*+*«**&>, mm mmcmtftk*
Irawddi river.
A small specimen of this ore, received from Mr. Brucb of Sosityc, in
Asara, was found to contain one-6fth per cent, of silver : or after
expelling the sulphur the lead would contain one-fourth per cent. Thia
would hardly pay the expence of extraction, but the specimen was too
small to give a fair average. The ore is however very valuable for the
lead alone, yielding from 60 to 70 per cent, of that metal.
At Brahmakund, in Asam, from Mr. Brucb's specimens, occurs a very
fine white porcelain clay, which mightbe turned to use were there
any demand for fine pottery in India, and were the locality a little
more accessible.
IX.—Earihquik* qf the 26th Aufurt.
The daily papers have published notices of this phenomenon, as observed at a
great many places in the interior of India, with more or less detail, from which the
following general facts may be gathered : —
The direction of the vibration was from north-east to south-west : there were three
principal shocks ; the first about half past six p. m. the second at half past eleven;
and the third or most severe shock, at about five minutes to twelve (Calcutta tine).
In the places where it was most felt slight and continued vibrations seem to have
been experienced for the whole of the day following. As the time of the second
vibration was accurately noted in Calcutta by the stopping of an astronomical dock,
we may assume it as the best point of comparison with the times noted at other
distant points. Applying the difference of longitude, a few of them may be thus
classed.
Observed Dft& Long. CaL Time.
h. m. m. Km.
Katmandu, Nipal, second shock. 10 45 «f- IS • 10 37 very severe ; load noise,
Rungpar, ditto 11 2p — 8 . 11 18 Bean* house* injured, da,
Monghyr ditto 11 27 + 7 . 11 34 walls cracked, note hand.
Arrah, ditto 11 If f H „ 11 89 walla injured, do.
Under Rotas hills, ditto, 11 10 f 90 „ II 30
Gorakhpor, ditto, 11*80 + 19 . 11 30 walls cracked. Ace.
altahshart <*ague), ditto. 11 f » .11 88? hollow sound from rrtec,
Bankura, ditto, 11 30 + 4, . 11 34 none sudx einos 1814.
Calcutta, ditto, _ 11 34 48 no injury done.
At Monghyr, Rungpux, Mozufrerpur, Mallai, and other places within the direct
line of influence, many houses were destroyed or injured, and the alarm was great
At Katmandft, however, the following extract of a. letter from. Dr. A. Camwai*
dated the 28th inst. will shew that the consequences were more serious, and judging
from the course of the phenomenon we may reasonably fear some dreadful catas-
trophe towards Lassa on the north of the great Himalayan range.
" On the evening of the 26th, about 6 o'clock, the valley and neighbouring hflls
were visited by a severe shock of an earthquake : it lasted about 40 seconds, sad
during its continuance, there was a distinctly audible noise as of ordnance passing
rapidly over a drawbridge. It seemed to me to come from the east, and I felt that
it was travelling with the speed of lightning towards the west, and just under my
feet: the houses shook most violently, and trees, shrubs, and the smallest plants were
Digiti
zed by G00gle
IttSv] Mkc*Ua*eo**. 4S$
**w ni flwtwn, But niM^' B>t wawtag to mo w© from theif 'itty fwtt; Tfo,
damage was done to life or property. At } to eleven we bad a similar shock in
severity and duration, and at eleven a most tremendous one. It commenced gra-
dually, and increased until the houses, trees, and every thing on the face of the
ground seemed shaken from their foundations. The earth heaved most fearfully,
and when the shock was at its worst we heard the clashing of falling tiles and*
bricks in every direction ; and to add to the impressiveness of the scene, a general
shout rose from the people in all directions. The murmur of human prayers was
carried audibly from the city to our grounds (a mile), and nothing could be more
imposing and vast than the scene. In a dead calm the noise of a hundred cannon burst
forth : full grown trees bended in all directions, and houses reeled about like drunken
men. In our grounds no lives were lost, but in Katmandu 19 persons were buri-
ed under the ruins of their own houses, and in the towns of Bhatgaon and Patau,
many more. This great shock continued for nearly a minute, and during the follow-
ing hour there were six distinct and strong shocks, the ground in the intervals be-
ing scarcely if at all steady ; and from this time till yesterday morning there were up-
wards of 20 distinct and sharp shocks. The loss of property has been very great, 125
houses fell in Katmandu during the night of the 26th, and nearly as many more have
been levelled with the ground. Up to this time, in consequence of the torrents of
rain that have come down, finishing the work of destruction commenced by the
earthquakes, the city and towns have been evacuated, men, children and wo-
men of the purdah, rich and poor, have been and still are on the plains about
the towns. Innumerable temples have been destroyed, and the very gods of them
hare been crushed to atoms. A fine and large brick temple (100 feet high), built
in imitation of the great one at Jaganath, came down by the run early yesterday
morning, and two fine pillars built by Bhim Sen were demolished by the great
shock. All yesterday and last night we had occasional small shakes, and we are
still in a state of suspense regarding the finale. In 1829, daily shocks continued
to occur for 40 days, but none of them equal to the great one we had on the 26th."
A subsequent note from the same gentleman, dated the 30th instant, gives further
particulars of this disastrous event : —
" We still continue to be revisited by occasional shocks of earthquake, all less,
violent than the great one of the 26th, but sufficiently alarming. This morning,
when at breakfast, we had rather a sharp one : they all seem to come from the
same direction ; that is from the east and north-east. The places east of Kat-
mandu have suffered most : Bhatgaon, a large town, has been almost entirely
destroyed ; upwards of 1000 houses have been levelled with the ground, and few
bare escaped serious injury. 300 souls have perished in this town (Bhatgaon)
alone, and the total number of lives lost throughout the valley, as yet ascertained,
is estimated at 500. The unfortunate people in many instances are in sore dis-
tress ; their stores of grain being buried beneath the ruins of their late dwellings,
and without money to purchase other food. The grain shops, as well as
all others, are shut, and the people dare not return to their houses, but remain
without sleep or shelter in the open air, under torrents of rain. The house of
Matabar Sing, (a goodly modern mansion) is quite destroyed, and the large
garden houses of Bhim Sen, and his brother, Rau Bin, are rendered, for the
present, untenable. Scarce a large house in Katmandu has escaped serious injury.
The fort at Chiropani, on the road to this from the plains, is much injured, and
almost all tie Government buildings have sustained great injury.*'
A. C.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
440
Meteorological Register.
[Aug. 1883.]
3
£
&>
v
3
5*
I,
X
&
-*
n
•Suraiopi
■SaiudA^
*a<x>N
'8uiujok
* ,1 4 * * • ei * 4 » «S tf j" ! G««*a3 tfl OBolsl ■
J> 4 rfrfrf^j:^ c. » „; „* " as / ao °
bo x , ^ ,'/>« c * c d o d jxx j 6 d ^u&ia 6 C o JJU j
ss8sasss%sasssssas>s&s?.sss&s&3ssss
■R-vonv
11
Is
88S8&£«3£aS8S&38$S>SSrS^&8SM8atSa
ill
!
§•£ 1
82 [
o -a -
81 -
i
So |J
•« M * JV
•1 if
71 II
wvonv
ec ps ^r «r ps «* -T «s rf^*r pi **rs V«" ps » poo5p5ps ps Vt-'sriiotQ •£ V*
•rc-vfuv
ml
BsssssssssssaaaKsss&sastfaagsss
?53
r "r e "l 1 -."l* .* t'5«n5ie5C<3Si--,^x-- l ':« t-C -r PS SO *5 C -. «3 c:
•w *v H **
uinuiiuiw
a5S858SaSS88$ «"MS8RS'gRRgfiR85S8"si I = * " = :*
•wvoi iv
K'VffrJV
9\\\ jo Acq
"s n ^ ■« ^^ « *£ « * « 3 S S 3 S g 5 35 3 §« £* 3 && ^ &£
:VJl*A*&iAM&3Pi;M&M3Kttg
-«P)-riO<0 l>.3p C. O-^'NPS^MS-Ot^
inl ,r, 2 L * 5 t '" cc ' a P — f « *^ ** 'S h-Op r. 5 —
— 5 -i'
j:
9 lOb
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JOURNAL
09
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 21.— September, 1833.
I. — An Inquiry into the Laws governing the two great powers, Attraction
and Repulsion, as operating on the Aggregation and Combination of
Atoms. By Julius Jeffreys, Esq. H yi.
Though the causes of the three states of matter, as they are called,
that is to say, the solid, the liquid, and the aeriform, together with
those causes by which the union of the different kinds of matter in
compound bodies is effected, and those also by which bodies are ex*
panded, contracted, or preserved of the same magnitude are subjects of
great curiosity and importance, yet they belong to a branch of Che-
mistry which is at present in an unadvanced and imperfect state.
Those justly celebrated philosophers who have done honor to our age
by their discoveries in other branches have not yet carried their ex-
amination so far into this part as to arrive at any settled opinions
concerning it, and not unfrequently in the same author doctrines have
been advanced which are irreconcilable with each other.
The branch of natural philosophy to which the present inquiry
is devoted having continued, with little advance, since it was written,
in the year 1822, the doctrines I have endeavoured to establish, and
the body of arguments by which they are supported, maintain still
whatever of novelty or importance they may have possessed. As,
however, in so considerable a period, a few of the arguments may
have been brought forward by others, though not perhaps similarly
applied, I have thought it proper to mark by including brackets, thus
[ ], such parts as have undergone any alteration upon a revision.
The body of the work remains verbatim as when first written.
Whether by directing my attention to this part of Chemistry I have
beta enabled to suggest any such modes of reasoning as may be applied
2 l
Digiti
zed by G00gle
442 On the two great powers, [Sett.
to the advantage of the science, it would be presumption in me to pro-
nounce an opinion. The question most depend upon the strength of
the arguments which I use, and which I now submit to the judgment
of the philosophic public.
Part I.— Of Attraction.
Attraction is usually divided into two kinds.
The first of them Gravitation, or that by which bodies have a ten-
dency to approach each other, and on which the sciences of Mechanics
and Physical Astronomy depend. The second Contiguous Attrac-
tion, or Attraction of Atoms, by which the atoms of bodies are kept
in connection with each other, and which alone it is my province at
this time to consider.
Contiguous Attraction, by a division subordinate to the former, is
usually considered as comprehending two species, Attraction of Aggre-
gation, or the attraction existing between homogeneous atoms, and
Chemical Attraction, or that which is between heterogeneous atoms.
This distinction has arisen from a supposition, that similar particles
exert an attraction towards each other which obeys laws different
from those of the attraction between dissimilar particles. That such
is an unnecessary distinction might be inferred, were there no other,
from this consideration, that when one solid combines with another to
form a compound solid, it is not possible to make a distinction between
the attraction uniting its compound particles and the affinity by which
the constituents are united. Thus in sulphuret of iron the cohesion
of the iron and the sulphur is overcome by their mutual attraction
which forms them into compound particles, and these again cohere in
a new solid differing entirely from either of the former. The attrac-
tion which keeps the particles of the sulphuret in a state of aggrega-
tion cannot be distinguished from that* which brought their elements
together ; for it favors the union of the elements, and aids in prevent*
ing their separation.
With reference to this and other differing opinions relative to
contiguous attraction, I propose to begin this Essay by a somewhat
minute examination of it under the following heads. 1st. By inquiring
into the distance at which it operates ; whether it is confined to near
particles only, or extends to more remote ones. 2ndly. By inquiring
how far the attraction of atoms is general ; that is, whether all atoms
in nature attract, and are attracted by all, or whether attraction be-
tween atoms (chemical and cohesive) is confined to a limited number.
3rdly. By inquiring into the effect of mass on contiguous attraction ;
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 443
that it, how far the attraction between atoms (chemical and cohe-
sive) is increased towards any given atom by the mass.
4thly. In what ratio of the distance the force of attraction of atoms
varies ; which will lead me to confirm by arguments the opinion that
gravitation and contiguous attraction are the same property of mat-
ter, differing only in the circumstances under which it is presented to
our observation.
Iff. Of the distance at which attraction of atoms operates.
From the effects of cohesive attraction being in most cases evident
only at very small distances, and from the particles of bodies in the
aerial state actually appearing to repel each other, it has been gene-
rally inferred that this force is exerted only at very limited distances ;
and hence its name, contiguous attraction.
Although the effects of cohesive attraction may be apparent only
at very small distances, yet it is scarcely correct to infer that this force
is exerted only at such distances until due attention has been paid to
the causes, which, by affecting the phenomena, may create deception
upon the mind. These appear to me of two kinds* — the minuteness
of attracting atoms, and all causes which operate against the attrac-
tion of atoms.
On the magnitude of atoms must in a great measure depend the
greatest distance at which the force of their attraction is sufficiently
powerful to be apparent.
If it be admitted that the force of this attraction decreases in as
great a ratio of the distance as that of gravitation, then, since atoms are
so small as not to be perceptible to our senses, it will follow that how-
ever strong their attraction may be when almost contiguous to each
other, it will not be apparent at any mensurable distance, though in
fact, it may be exerted in some degree at unlimited distances ; for if
two attracting particles of matter were sufficiently increased in magni-
tude without altering at all the laws of their attraction, this force
might be evident at any distance however great, unless it be supposed
(which would indeed be very unphilosophical) that attraction ceases at
some certain distance suddenly and abruptly.
The other causes which may create deception as to the distance at
which this attraction is exerted, are all powers which oppose its force.
From the attraction of particles being constantly opposed by the
powerful agency of heat, its force in liquids is scarcely apparent, though
ia fact it may be very powerful, for it is only the excess of the attrac-
tion over the repulsion that can be measured.
2 l 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
444 On the two great power* , [Sbft.
The two following are proofs of attraction in liquids, and also tha&
it is very considerable*.
Sir Humphrey Davy remarks very justly, " Cohesion is usually said
to act only at the surface of bodies, or by their immediate contact* bet
this does not seem to be the case. It certainly acts with much great-
er energy at small distances ; but the spherical form of minute portions
of fluid matter can only be produced by the attraction of all the parts
of which they are composed for each other ; and most of these attrac-
tions must be exerted at sensible distances." To this remark, I
may be allowed to add, that the attraction between the particles of a
liquid, must, moreover, be a very powerful force ; for it is not only
able to resist the force of repulsion, but also to gather the particles
into drops against their tendency to gravitate.
Another proof of the force of attraction in liquids, appears to me
afforded in the fact, that the expansion of liquids increases in a great-
er ratio than the temperature, or that liquids expand more from equal
additions of heat at high than at low temperatures. If the pressure
of the atmosphere were the only force opposing their expansion, li-
quids would expand less as the temperature increased ; for, as a liquid
expands, since it presents a greater surface! either to the air or to
the vessel containing it, it is pressed on with increasing force. But
if the force opposing the expansion increases with the temperature, it
is plain that equal additions of heat would produce less and less
effect.
If these equal increments of temperature in liquids be considered to
indicate equal additions of heat, as is the general opinion, the only
means by which the increased ratio of expansion can be accounted
for, it appears to me, must be sought for in a powerful attraction
exerted between the particles of a fluid, by the decrease of which at-
traction, as the particles separate from each other, more effect is pro-
duced towards enabling heat to expand the fluid, than the increase of
atmospheric pressure produces in opposing the expansion ; so that the
sum of the powers opposing expansion is a decreasing force, and hence
the expansion itself will have an increasing ratio.
The nature and physical properties of gases, have especially induced
most philosophers to consider the attraction of atoms as only acting
• Elements of Chemical Philosophy, p. 68.
t This is of course the same effect ; for though a liquid expanding in a jar may
not have the surface exposed to the air increased, yet it displaces more and
air, and is re-acted on by the vessel, with precisely the same force, as if it i
compressed on all sides by the atmosphere.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repuhion. 446
when atoms are very near to each other. From the great elasticity of
gases, their atoms are treated of as beyond the sphere of mutual at-
traction, and some philosophers* have accounted for the expansion be-
ing equable for each equal addition of temperature, and for the ratio
of expansion being the same in all gases, by the supposition of no at-
traction existing between their particles, and as proofs of the non-exis-
tence of any such attraction. How far this reasoning is correct let us
presently examine.
The elasticity of a gas is certainly no proof of the absence of any
attraction between its atoms. It serves only to show that the whole
repulsion is very powerful and superior to any attraction that may exist
between its atoms. Since the attraction between the particles of a
gas is inferior to the repulsive power, it cannot be apparent, though it
may yet certainly exist.
The gas will possess elasticity, and will expand unless subjected to
a compressing force, such as the atmosphere.
Again, the equable expansion of a gas from each equal rise of tem-
perature, is not any proof of the absence of attraction between its
atoms on the ground usually taken, that if there were any attraction
present, it ought, by decreasing as the atoms separated, and conse-
quently offering less and less resistance, to allow of an increasing ex-
pansive effect from each equal addition of temperature. For it will
presently be seen, that equal increments of temperature in gases by no
means indicate equal quantities of heat, and therefore not equal addi-
tions of repulsive power. Neither does the atmospheric pressure offer
constantly equal resistance to the expansion of a gas ; since as a gas
expands this force tending to compress its atoms must increase, for as
the particles of a gas recede from each other, each is subjected to and
has to support the pressure of a greater number of
those of the atmosphere. Thus in the annexed figure
A — « " *«• — B the line A B may be supposed to mark the contact of
the atmosphere, and a volume of subjacent gas. Here, each particle
of gas with its elastic mediumf, denoted by the dots A B, is subjected
to the pressure of a column whose base is one particle of air.
Illlllllllll Let the ?** ** ex P anded by heat until the distance of
Illlllllllll tne P^kfe 8 fr° m eacn ot ^ er * s double. It is now clear,
A • • • • • •!! that each particle with its elastic medium (now greatly
* Murray, vol. i. p. 248, System of Chemistry. Bbrthollbt, Chem. Statics.
Lambbrt, vol. i. p. 116, 117, and 143.
f The seat of the repulsive force, according to most authors ; as will be pre-
sently considered.
/
Digiti
zed by G00gle
446 On the two great powers, [Sept.
enlarged) has to support a column of air, the base of which is four
particles, two being shown in the side view. Hence the atmospheric
force tending to compress any two gaseous particles must increase as
they recede from each other ; and even very considerably, for aerial
fluids expand much from small increments of temperature*.
The experiments of Mr. Dalton, Db Luc, and others, made chiefly
between the freezing and boiling points of water, lead to the conclusion
that gases expand ji* (of their bulk at 32°) with each accession of
temperature of one degree (Farh.) in a simple arithmetical progression ;
and it appears assumed that this is the law of their expansion by heat.
Hence air at 32° by an advance of 480 degrees, i. e. to 512°, would
have its bulk doubled. Let us suppose two cubical pints of air to be
taken ; and let one of them be expanded to double its bulk, i. e. to a
quart. Since the distance of the atoms increases as the cube root of
the bulk ; the bulk of one of these portions of air having become 2 to
the other as 1 ; the distance of the atoms will have increased in the
former in the ratio of the cube root of 2 to the cube root of 1, i. e. as
1 .26 to 1 nearly ; and since the number of atoms under a given surface
of the gas expanded to a quart will be 100, while there are 158 under
the same surface in the pint, and the pressure being constant on a
given surface, 100 atoms of the former will have to support as much
as 158 of the lat|sr. Let the pressure be called 158. It is plain each
particle of the quart will be pressed on by a force 1.58, while each of
the pint will have to bear only a pressure of 1 .
Again, since, as was shown by Newton, the mutual elasticity of
the particles of air (and the same is assumed with regard to all gases),
varies inversely as their distance, i. e. decreases in the direct proportion
of their separation ; and since the pressure increases as the square of
their distance; the total absolute force expanding a gas must be in-
• The reader will not, it is hoped, think that the following error is here com-
mitted of supposing that by increasing the surface of a volume of gas the compres-
sion of its parts is increased; as for instance, that the compression of the parts
of a spherical pint of gas (in which form the surface is the least possible) would
be increased by moulding the volume into any other form, as that of a long eytm-
der, where the surface would be greatly increased. So long as the number of par-
ticles in a given volume is constant, the pressure and mutual re-action of the atom*
will of course not vary, whatever may be the extent of surface exposed to the at-
Biosphere or to any vessel it is contained in. But directly the number of particles
in a given bulk, ceases to be constant owing to expansion, the pressure on each
particle, of necessity must increase, whether it be a superficial particle contiguous
to the air, or inside of the vessel, or a central one receiving the pressure from (he
other particles and re-acting against it.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1688.} Attraction and Ripdsion. 447
creased in the direct ratio of the increase of the hulk. —Thus one cu-
bic inch of air will need the absolute elastic power of each particle to
be increased eight times, in order to expand it to 8 inches. The bulk
baring been increased eight-fold, the distance of the particles will be
doubled (i. e. as the cube root of the bulk) ; on doubling their distance
their elastic force Is halved, i. e. from 8 it has become 4, and at the
same time the pressure is increased as the square of their distance 2,
and is therefore 4. Here then the elasticity and pressure balance each
other, and the particles will be stationary. Hence the power endow-
tag the particles with mutual elasticity must have been increased in the
same ratio as the increase of the bulk. If these 480 degrees of tem-
perature can double the bulk of a given volume of gas, they must
doable the whole absolute quantity of heat in the gas. The specific
beat of the gas at 512° will be double that of the pint at 32° in the
experiment. Now this is a point which probably no one acquainted
with all that is known regarding caloric will maintain. We can hard-
ly suppose that the whole specific heat of a gas at 32° (viz. that due to
its capacity and temperature, and all the latent heat due to its gaseous
state) is equal only to that introduced by the 480 degrees. Analogy
would teach us, that it is, at least, three or four times as much. If
then the 480 degrees of heat can effect as much expansion as the whole
previously contained in the gas could, we are led necessarily to the
conclusion that the latter is opposed, even in gaseous matter, by an at-
traction, so far as to have an effective repulsive force equal only to that
subsequently introduced by 480 degrees of temperature, nay to much
less, for the fact of the presence of this attraction being once establish-
ed, between the gaseous particles, this force must be considered as
operating against the heat subsequently introduced ; and must lessen
its effective power.
This argument I may illustrate in a more familiar manner. Let a cy-
lindrical vessel half filled with any gas, nitrogen, stand inverted in a
vessel of water, so that the liquid being on a level within and without
the pressure on the gas shall be just that of the atmosphere. If the
surface be two square inches, this will be equal to thirty pounds. Let
an equal quantity of oxygen gas be added, and suppose it at first to re-
main under the nitrogen, and the vessel to be raised so as to preserve
the same level in the water. The oxygen will now bear the whole pres-
sure, and communicate the same to the nitrogen above it. Each will
be pressed on with a force of 30 pounds. In the course of time, how-
ever, the two gases will become completely mixed. Each will occupy
the whole vessel, the bulk of each being doubled ; but the two together
Digiti
zed by G00gle
448 On the two great powers, (Sbpt.
nut filling more space than before. Now, it is clear, each pr esses
on the water and each bears one- half of the pressure of 30 pounds, so
that the elastic force introduced with the oxygen gas has enabled the
nitrogen to double its bulk under the pressure of the air ; and has
done no more. If instead of adding the oxygen gas, heat had been add-
ed to the nitrogen until its bulk had been doubled by expansion, it is
manifest the 480° which effected this would have introduced as great
an effective dilating power as that of the whole specific heat of the oxy-
gen gas in the other case. But it will not be contended, that the
whole specific heat of the oxygen gas amounted to no more than 480
degrees : for analogy would lead us to conclude, that the latent heat
due to its gaseous state (including that of the previous state of liqui-
dity) must greatly exceed this quantity, and if we add all the caloric of
temperature, in a substance of a large capacity for heat, from the na-
tural zero up to the temperature of the experiment, we shall proba-
bly underrate the quantity at three or four times 480°. The question
then is, whence does it happen that 480° of uncombined heat could aid
the expansion of the nitrogen gas, as much as four times this quantity
entering with the oxygen ? A reason, it appears to me, can only be
found in the following explanation. The latter heat is so far opposed
by a mutual attraction between the atoms of the oxygen, that its free
effective elastic power equals only that of the 480° in the other case.
If then any inference can be drawn from the equable expansion of a
gas from equal increments of heat, it is certainly this ; that a power-
ful attraction subsists between the gaseous atoms, reducing the elastici-
ty of their large quantity of specific heat, in so great a degree, as to
leave an effective elasticity equal only to what would be due to one-
third or one-fourth as much heat. But the attraction cannot be appa-
rent, because it is veiled beneath the excess of the elastic power.
The alleged fact that all gases have the same ratio of expansion has
also been proposed as an argument against the existence of attraction
between particles in a gaseous state. It is said that all gases have the
same ratio of expansion, because the force opposing expansion is the
same in all, namely, the pressure of the air ; and that if an attraction be
admitted between the particles of a gas it must be considered as equal
in every gas, for otherwise the ratio of expansion would not be the
same in all, and hence that there exists no attraction, for it cannot be
considered as equal in all gases. Mature reflection will perhaps in-
duce a different view of the subject. Though a certain change of tem-
perature may produce an equal change in the mass of all gases, yet the
separation of the particles may be scarcely the same in any two, for we
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1853 J Attraction and Rqmlfion. 449
have no proof of different gases having the same number of particle,
in equal bulks.
In the combination of gases, a comparison between their prime earn.
vslents, their proportions by volume, and the resulting bulks of the
compounds, would lead to the conclusion that the number of particles
in a given bulk differed materially in different gases. Thus, if it be
assumed that in oxygen and nitrogen the number of atoms in a given
bulk of each » equal, since one volume of the former combines with
one of the latter to form the nitric oxyd gas, it would follow, that n
atom of each unite to form each particle of the compound gas. If
then, in the latter, it be assumed, that in a given bulk the same number
of compound particles exist as of simple ones in either of the former, it
is clear that the two volumes ought in combining to condense into
one volume, since two atoms form one compound particle. But expe-
rience shews that no condensation takes place. Therefore, whatever
number of simple atoms have combined to form a compound particle,
in the same proportion must the number of the latter in a given space
have decreased.
Many other combinations of gases would prove equally hostile to
the supposition, that all gases are at the same temperature and pres-
sors equally dense. Hence, though equal rises of temperature may in-
crease the bulks of different gases equally, the separation of the parti.
cles may differ in all. And further, the capacities of gases for heat dif-
fer materially. If equal bulks of hydrogen and olefint gases be taken,
since their relative capacities for heat are as 1 to 1.7 nearly, we
shall have these numbers representing the relative quantity of heat by
each degree of temperature. It would require 1.7 of heat to expand
sn equal bulk of hydrogen. Since the pressure on each is equal
sad increases equally, whence does this arise ? We are compelled I
think, to conclude that atmospheric pressure is not the sole force op-
posing expansion, but that it is aided also by an attraction subsisting
between particles in the gaseous state, more powerful in olefint gas
thsn ,n hydrogen, whence to effect an equal expansion more heat is re-
quired in the former than in the latter.
If then any inference can be drawn from the equable expansion by
.!? If T ga8e8 * * is "*• that in ever y «*■ » •***« co-
asts between the atoms ; but in some gases, as mighthave been expect-
ed, more powerful than in others.
By the above elaborate inquiry. I trust I have shewn that the fact.
«ually brought forward as evidence of the limited distance to wS
2 M
Digiti
zed by G00gle
450 On tie two great powers, [Sbft.
contiguous attraction is supposed to extend do in reality lead to aa op-
posite conclusion.
Of an attraction between gaseous atoms, both similar and dissimilar,
we shall have further satisfactory proof by the consideration of the
following phenomena. In the transition of aqueous vapour to the
■olid state, a number of particles, which must have occupied a con-
siderable space, convene to form a flake of snow.
This must surely have been produced by a general attraction
throughout all the particles of that portion of vapour, the attraction
between the contiguous particles being doubtless the most powerful.
Hence each minute crystal of the flake is formed by the affinity of se-
veral neighbouring particles, but the aggregation of all the crystals to
form the mass must be the product of an universal attraction of all the
particles of the vapour. Otherwise no flake would be formed, bat each
grain would be precipitated separately. This instance alone appears a
conclusive proof. Between dissimilar particles there are many like
instances. The deliquescence of a salt has been adduced by Newton
himself in proof of its attraction " acting at a distance" on the parti*
cles of vapour in the air.
The mutual action of the particles of different gases on each other is
often evident at considerable distances, as when two gases combine to
form a solid -or liquid, such as the muriatic acid and ammoniacal gases,
and many others.
If all these arguments and facts be admitted as true, sufficient has
been said to prove thj&the attraction of atoms, whether of similar or
dissimilar atoms, is not merely a contiguous force ; and as we have had
evidence of its being exerted by all atoms in a gaseous state, but have
no proof of its ceasing at any point, it must surely be considered as a
power that operates, though weakly, at a distance, and that it does not
suddenly cease any where.
2nd!y. How far the attraction of atoms is general, i. e. whether all
atoms in nature attract and are attracted by all, or whether attraction
"between atoms, chemical and cohesive, is confined to a limited num-
ber.
It would seem to be the opinion of most modern philosophers, that
all homogeneous atoms exert a mutual attraction when sufficiently near
to each other, and hence that the particles of gases would cohere if
brought within the limits of their attraction. That all homogeneous
atoms attract each other, there is not any reason for doubting. It has
been above shewn that we have no proof of a limit to the distance at
which attraction may be exerted, and that even in the gaseous stats
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.} Attraction and Repulsion. 451
til particles must be supposed to attract each other. Since then m
liquids and solids also an attraction is always manifest, it follows that
between homogeneous atoms this force is universal. We have equal
reason to admit its action between all heterogeneous atoms, though it
has until lately been considered to exist only between a limited variety.
The fact that many atoms refuse to combine may be readily explain-
ed, as Dr. Murray has observed, by taking all the forces that oppose
combination into consideration. These forces may in many instances
be superior to that of the attraction, and then the latter will apparent-
ly not exist. A very strong proof of the universal action of attraction
between dissimilar atoms, and even when in the gaseous state, is af-
forded by the fact that all gases without any exception will either
combine, or else mix, when brought together ; and further that all dis-
solve water when placed over it*.
The reason of an attraction being universally apparent between all
gases, though not between all liquids and solids, is readily explained.
Id the former state, the particles of the body are not detained by any
cohesion, but exert an effective repulsionf for each other, which ren-
ders them easy to be put into motion ; hence even a weak attraction
exerted by another gas becomes evident. On the other hand, the par-
tides of solids and of liquids, on a small separation from each other,
are detained by their cohesion, it being stronger than the attraction
of many bodies for them.
With respect to the attraction, which acts between atoms, I trust
that under the present head sufficient has bqgn. shewn, to justify its
being considered as a power, which is universal, i. e. which is exerted
(though with various degrees of force) between all particles similar
and dissimilar.
3<tfy. The effect of mass on contiguous attraction.
If the statements, laid down in the two former heads, be true, it fol-
lows of necessity, that attraction must also vary with the mass, or
number of attracting atoms ; and this is confirmed by experiment, with
respect to heterogeneous atoms. Thus it is well known, that a particle
of sulphuric acid has a stronger attraction for one of potash than one
• It is well known Mr. Dalton and others hare endeavoured to explain these
fats, without the assistance of an attraction. This will be dimmed m a future part
of this paper.
1 1 hare used the term effective, here and elsewhere, to denote the excess of
one force above its opponent ; thus, if the attraction be 4 but the repulsion 10,
the effective repulsion = 6. In like manner, there is in some cases an " effective"
attraction.
2m 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
452 On the two great powers, [Sift.
of nitric acid has. Let the force of the former be 8, that of the lat-
ter 4. If a compound atom of sulphate of potash were In this case
exposed to three atoms of nitric acid, the potash would be separated/
by the united action of the three atoms of nitric acid. In the same
manner, the sulphuric acid may be taken from sulphate of barytea, by
an excess of potash, as Bbrthollbt has shewn. In both the above in-
stances, mass evidently operates*. There is also every reason for be-
lieving, that this attraction varies as the mass, between homogeneous
atoms, although there are not experiments proving that this it
absolutely the case; for such experiments can hardly be expected, dot
is it easy to propose a way of making them. In a homogeneous solid
mass, this law does not plainly present itself, merely from the small-
ness of the atoms ; from which, as formerly observed, the attractions
of all those that are at a distance from each other (which is the easr
with far the greater part) becomes so much less than that of contigu-
ous particles, (on which the solidity chiefly depends,) as not to admit
of measurement with it.
- The law of attraction which is here enforced, is also perfectly con-
fbrmable with the doctrine of definite proportion, and does not in met'
at all aflfect it, as has been by some supposed.
From all that has been stated, it must surely be admitted as a law
Of this power, that the attraction of atoms varies as their number.
Athly. The ratio in which the force of attraction varies, and the
identity of this power, with gravitation.
I have observed, at the beginning, that the opinions of philosophers,
upon the attraction of atoms, are various, and in many instances con-
tradictory to each other. They are particularly so in the present ques-
tion.
Among other theories is that of Boscovich, which is very generallT
known. In this it is supposed that atoms do not exert a simple
power of attraction towards each other ; but that their mutual attrac-
tion alternates with a mutual repulsion, not with variations of time,
(as has been by some supposed of the affinity of bodies for light) but with
variations of distance. Thus that two atoms, when contiguous, repel
each other with great force : and that this repulsion decreases with
the increase of the distance, and at last vanishes, giving place to as
attraction, which increases with the distance to its maximum ; whence
it decreases, vanishes, and is replaced by the repulsion, which obeys
• This fact does in no degree militate against the well established and important
doctrine of definite proportions in combination.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1883.]. Attraction and Repulsion. 453,
the same laws. And that there are numerous alternations of these
forces. According to this law, the particles of a mass must always,
remain tt some one of the intervals between attraction and repulsion.
This may be at various distances, and thus may be explained the vari-
ous degrees of density, which the same body may possess at different
times . To this hypothesis it may be objected that it cannot be easily
admitted, of a simple force, that it should increase, as the centres of
attraction are separated ; much less then, that this force should sud-
denly, from a certain point, obey an opposite law, and decrease with
an increase of distance.
But to admit, in addition to this, that the same atoms, from another
certain point, exert an opposite force of repulsion, which obeys the
same complicated law, and that these alternations are frequently re*
peated, until at last a regular decreasing attraction prevails, is scarcely
possible ; since it does not accord with the extreme simplicity always
observable in the laws of nature.
Moreover, it is not possible by this theory alone, to account for the
gradual increase of volume which bodies undergo, without introducing
the repulsive agency of heat.
Though there are, according to this theory, many points of distance,
at which particles may rest, it cannot of itself account, even for expanr
sion, much less for Hquifaction and vaporization. And again, if
the agency of heat be added to it, on a reduction of temperature, bo-
dies would not contract in volume, for their particles would necessarily
he prevented from approaching, by that region of repulsion, at the lw
mit of which they lay. This would involve the necessity of another
extraneous agent, namely some compressing force. And thus the two
alternate forces, assigned in the hypothesis, are ineffectual without the
Assistance of the other two, and with them are altogether useless ; con^
sequently it is not philosophical to suppose them.
An anonymous writer in the Encyclopaedia Britannica* treats of
cohesion as a force, which extending to a small distance, is within
this distance, " little or not at all altered by slight compression, or
expansion." And in another place he says, " it appears, that the force
of cohesion cannot be supposed to vary much with the density, and
it is therefore allowable to consider it as constant as far as its action
extends." I have, under another head, I think proved, that this at-
traction meat not be considered, as extending only to very small dis-
tances ; and the arguments, adduced in support of this, also proves
that attraction is a decreasing force. These are, the increasing ratio
* Supplement, Art. Cohesion,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
454 On the two great powers, [Sbft.
of expansion in liquids, and tbe equable expansion of gaaes from de-
creasing additions of heat. The former can only be accounted for, by
supposing that its chief opponent force, the attraction, decr e a s e*. IW
latter also requires the admission of an attraction between all gaseous
particles, and that this force decreases likewise. For, did it not decrease,
gases (as it was there demonstrated) could not expand as moch from
certain additions of caloric of temperature, as from their specific heat,
so much more in quantity.
In Dr. Rxxs's Cyclopaedia* we find another author, who expresses a
very different opinion. " There is," he says, " an attraction, which is
found to obtain in the minute particles, whereof all bodies are com-
posed, which attract each other, at or near the point of contact, with
a force much superior to that of gravity, but which, at any Hi«tati ff
from it, decreases much faster, than the power of gravity."
And others, observing tbe apparently great decrease in the force of
attraction, as particles are separated from each other, have supposed
that it must vary as the inverse cube, or some higher power of the
distance.
All these views have doubtless arisen, from attending to the appa-
rent, rather than the actual, force of attraction. Since attraction,
whenever presented to observation, is always opposed by a divellent
force, the law of the simple force cannot be investigated by any direct
experiment from its immediate effects.
There is however the strongest reason for concluding that contigu-
ous attraction, as treated of in chemistry, is identical with the great uni-
versal power, gravitation.
■ This opinion has been hinted at by philosophers from an early age
of this science, and among them by Sir Humphrey DAvrf. But it
may be demonstrated, as I think, in the most satisfactory manner, from
the following considerations.
IsL The great Nkwton has demonstrated, that the gravitation,
which prevails throughout the bodies of the system, is composed of
the sums of the attractions between the atoms of the several bodies.
And thus it is, strictly speaking, an attraction of atoms ; and it is ex-
erted between the same atoms as the attraction, which usually bears
that name.
2ndly. It will be found to possess the same properties also. — First.
That attraction of atoms, which constitutes gravitation, increases or
decreases as the distance at which it operates is less or greater. This
♦ Art. Attraction. f Sir H. Davy's Elements of Chcm. Philosophy, p. 68.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 45S
the same great author has shewn. For the attraction of* a hody in the
mass (i. e. gravitation) depends wholly on this supposition. This
same property we have seen* must belong to the other attraction of
atoms. Secondly. The absolute force of gravitation varies as the
mass. This, we have also seenf, must be a property of the attraction
of atoms chemically considered.— Thirdly. By decreasing the mass* in
gravitation, until the force operating only between a few or single
atoms, this force would become imperceptible at a very small distance,
■which exactly agrees with the attraction of atoms in question J.
Fourthly. It has been above§, I think, clearly shewn that the attrac-
tion of atoms, as connected with chemistry, is universal ; and is there*
fore in this respect perfectly similar to the attraction of atoms named
gravitation.
We have here two forces exerted by the very same atoms, (namely
those of which all masses in nature are composed,) and possessing the
same properties, as far as a comparison can be carried on between
them ; and this extending through numerous particulars ; whence we may
conclude, that both are the same force differing only in the accident of
distance, from whence it has acquired distinct names — and therefore,
since, by the above-mentioned discovery of Newton, the forces of
atoms composing gravitation vary inversely as the square of their dis-
tances, this force must still obey the same law, when considered
under the name of contiguous attraction.
The truth of this doctrine, which I have been endeavouring to de-
monstrate generally, will I think be placed beyond all question, by
the consideration of the following case.
A celebrated author, whom I have already quoted, has adduced the
spherical figure of a drop of water in proof of cohesion operating
throughout all its particles. Let us now suppose such a drop, situate*)
in absolute space, to be enlarged by an accession of matter, until it be-
came an ocean. This ocean would unquestionably retain the figure
of a sphere ; its parts being kept together by the same force, not at all
changed in quality, but only increased in quantity. From having been
once a drop, it would become a planet, and its attraction, which was
called cohesion, would now be considered as gravitation.
In addition to this, it may be remarked, that part of the fluid, pass-
ing into vapor, would form an atmosphere around the planet, (admit-
ting that it was exposed to the usual source of heat.) The force,
which detained this atmosphere on the surface of the planet, would
constitute its gravitation, "which would be no ether than the cohesive
» Vide page 443. f Vide page 451, Head 3. ; Vide page 443. § Vide page 450.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
456 On the two great powers, £Sbpt.
attraction. And, aince it operates between the liquid and gaseous
atoms, most of which are at a much greater distance from each other,
than any two neighbouring atoms of the vapor, it at once proves that
Atoms in a gaseous state attract each other at all distances.
Part II.— Of Repulsion. Div. 1st.
Were the attractive force, which we have hitherto treated of, op-
posed by no other power, it is manifest, that the atoms of all bodies
would be in perfect contact, and that all masses would be absolutely
dense. Hence there must of necessity exist some divellent, or repul-
sive power in bodies ; for the atoms of none can be in contact, since
all are capable of contracting from certain causes. As they, in con*
tracting, occupy a less space than before, the difference between their
present and former bulks must have intervened between their atoms ;
and even much more ; for no limit has been found to the contraction of
bodies. It is owing to the same divellent power, that heterogeneous
atoms cannot come into contact. Hence the limited number of com-
binations ; and hence it happens, that most gases, on being presented
to each other, merely mix, and cannot enter into combination.
Since a divellent or repulsive force is always as evidently operating
to prevent the contact of atoms, as an attraction, exerted by them, is
operating to favor their contact, the former has no less commanded
the attention of philosophers, than the latter.
Any theory, which would at all admit of investigation, must suppose
the great opponent force to the attraction of atoms to depend, either
on a repulsive power inherent in and exerted by them ; or on this
force, aided by the power heat ; — or on the power heat alone.
These I shall attempt to investigate severally. — First. Whether the
Opponent force to the attraction of atoms is a power inherent in and
exerted by them.
The theory of Boscovich and a few others may be placed under this
head. His theory, as above observed, would sufficiently account for
the constitution of bodies, if their volumes were permanent, and their
particles always at rest. But, since all bodies are capable of possess-
ing every degree of density, and of expanding and contracting gradu-
ally, such a theory would interfere with known phenomena, which
could not take place on the admission of it.
Bodies, as I have before remarked, would never expand without the
introduction of some extraneous expanding power, nor could they con-
tract, without the admission of a compressing force, of which we have
no evidence, and the action of which could not be explained.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 457
Tq short, as all powers inherent in atoms must be permanent, and
as a permanent repulsion cannot alone account for densities and states,
which are not constant, the power opposing attraction cannot be solely
a power inherent in atoms.
Secondly. Whether the opponent force to the attraction of atoms
depends on a power exerted by them, aided by the power, heat.
In a modern treatise on attraction* and repulsion, it is thus assert-
ed :— " The states of elastic fluidity, solidity, and liquidity, in all of
which the greater number of simple bodies are capable of being exhi-
bited, at different temperatures, are not uncommonly conceived to de-
pend on the different actions of heat only, giving a repulsive force to
the particles of gases, and simply detaching those of liquids from that
cohesion with the neighbouring atoms which is supposed to constitute
solidity." And he adds, " but these ideas, however universal, may be
easily shewn to be totally erroneous : and it will readily be found, that
the immediate effect of heat alone is by no means adequate to the ex-
planation of either of the changes of form in question." " There can
never be rest, without an equilibrium of force, and if two particles of
matter attract each other, and yet remain without motion, it must be
because there exists also a repulsive force, equal, at the given distance,
to the attractive force."
To this I answer. — It is undoubtedly true, that, to enable the parti-
cles of a body to be at rest, the opponent forces, operating on them,
must be in equilibrio. And the remark, just quoted, might properly
be objected to those writers who have treated of the force of attrac-
tion between the particles of solids, ,as being greater than the repul-
sion. But, since the question is, whether or not heat be the repulsive
power which keeps bodies in the gaseous, the liquid, and the solid
state, this remark cannot be considered as a proof on either side, since
it has no reference to this question.
Admitting heat as the sole source of repulsion between atoms, its
force may easily, nay must be considered, as equal to that of the at-
traction, whenever particles are at rest. The opponent powers must
be in equilibrio, whether heat be the source of repulsion, or not.
In the same treatise also, attraction and repulsion, it would appear, are
considered as being both exerted between atoms, at all distances within
a certain limit. In the first place, it cannot be admitted as possible,
that at the same distance, the same particles should at once attract and
repel each other. But even supposing it possible ; — if this repulsion
• Encyclopedia Britannica, Supplement, Art. Cohesion,
2 N
Digiti
zed by G00gle
458 On the two great powers, [Sept.
be equal to the attraction in the liquid state, since it must be a perma-
nent force, the attraction, being always opposed by an equal force,
would never be able, under any circumstances, to draw the atoms into
the solid state.
If the repulsion be considered equal to the attraction, when parti-
cles are at rest in the solid state, no solid could contract, unless ex-
posed to an extra-compressing force, of which (as before remarked)
we have no evidence, and which must only operate at certain times,
for otherwise no solid could ever expand.
Since then it has been shewn, that, if an inherent repulsion, exert-
ed by atoms, be considered, as one of the great opponent forces to
their attraction, it necessarily involves the introduction of an extra-
compressing force, which must only operate at certain times ; and since
no such compressing force can be demonstrated, it is manifest that
such a repulsion cannot be considered as one of the opponent forces to
atomic attraction.
Thirdly. — That the opponent force, to the attraction of atoms, de-
pends on the power heat alone.
It has been already proved, that no inherent force of repulsion can
be supposed to be exerted by atoms, and that such a force would not
account for the phenomena of repulsion, which could not take place on
the admission of it. It therefore follows, according to the division, that
in heat consists the great opponent force to the attraction of atoms.
It is manifest, that previously to an attempt to explain the action of
heat, as the source of repulsion, a decided opinion should, if possible, be
formed of its nature.
The difficulty of this is apparent, in the fact, that chemical philoso-
phers are divided between the two opinions, that the phenomena called
heat depend on vibratory motions in the particles of bodies, or that
heat is a subtle highly elastic fluid pervading all bodies.
1. That the phenomena of heat depend on vibratory motions, in the
particles of bodies.
The phenomena of heat are of two kinds: — Those, which are appa-
rent to the senses, and commonly called heat; and those of repulsion*
The great philosopher Bacon, being unacquainted with most of the
facts proving the repulsive force of heat, could only judge of its nature
by those of the former kind. He, observing that great heat was pro-
duced by the friction and percussion of many bodies, that iron may
even be rendered red hot by percussion, was led to the conclusion, that
heat consists in a motion in the particles of bodies. But he did not ap-
ply his hypothesis to the explanation of repulsion. Of late years a great
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833] Attraction and Repulsion. 459
philosopher* has extended the views of Bacon, and has endeavoured to
explain all the phenomena of repulsion by a vibratory and rotatory mo-
tion in the particles of bodies. This great and meritorious author writes
in these words :— " When any body is cooled, it occupies a smaller volume
than before, it is evident, therefore, that its parts roust have approached
towards each other ; when the body is expanded by heat, it is equally
evident, that its parts must have separated from each other. The im-
mediate cause of the phenomena of heat then is motion, and the laws
of its communication are precisely the same, as the laws of the commu-
nication of motion." Since all matter may be made to fill a smaller
volume by cooling, it is evident that the particles of matter must have
space between them, and since every body can communicate the power
of expansion to a body of a lower temperature ; that is, can give an ex-
pansive motion to its particles, it is a probable inference, that its own
particles are possessed of motion : but as there is no change in the posi-
tion of its parts, as long as its temperature is uniform, the motion, if it
exist, must be a vibratory or undulatory motion, or a motion of the par-
ticles round their axes, or a motion of particles round each other."
And, he continues, " It seems possible, to account for all the pheno-
mena of heat, if it be supposed, that in solids the particles are in a
constant state of vibratory motion , the particles of the hottest bodies
moving with the greatest velocity, and through the greatest space ; that
ia fluids and elastic fluids, besides the vibratory motion, which must be
conceived greatest in the last, the particles have a motion round their
own axes, with different velocities, the particles of elastic fluids moving
with the greatest quickness; and that in ethereal substances, the particles
move round their own axes, and separate from each other, penetrating
in right lines through space. Temperature may be conceived to depend
upon the velocities of the vibrations ; increase of capacity on the motion
being performed in greater space ; and the diminution of temperature,
daring the conversion of solids into fluids or gases, may be explained
on the idea of the loss of vibratory motion, in consequence of the revo-
lution of particles round their axes, at the moment when the body be-
comes fluid or aeriform, or from the loss of the rapidity of vibration,
in consequence of the motion of the particles through greater space."
It is under the deepest impression of respect for the author that I
allow myself to make my observations on the doctrine supported in the
above quotation, which observations are only stated from a persuasion
of the importance of one decided and general opinion aa to the nature
of heat in forming the science of chemical philosophy.
* Sir H. Davy's Elements of Chemical ftilosophy.
2n2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
460 0* the two great powers, [Ssrr.
It is certainly true, that when a body contracts on a reduction, or ex-
pands on a rise of temperature, in the one case the particles approach*
and in the other recede, from each other. This approximation, and se-
paration, is a gradual and regular motion. Thus, if two particles are
kept at a certain distance from each other, by any force (whether of
heat or not) on the removal of that force the particles most have mo-
tion, if they approach ; but when they arrive the distance at which
they are to remain, this motion ceases, and is no proof of vibratory
motions in the atoms, nor can it give rise to them. When particles
approach, they are put into gradual motion, by the force of attraction ;
and they will not separate, until a superior force urges them in a dif-
ferent direction.
Since the particles of matter have space between them, and since they
exert great attractions for each other, the force, which keeps them
asunder, must be equal to their attraction. If this force is a vibration of
the particles, it cannot be permanent. No motion can be lasting, when
opposed by any force, however small, unless it is preserved by an equal
force. But the vibration of atoms would be opposed by a very power*
ful force, their mutual attraction ; which would urge them into absolute
contact ; when any vibration must cease, from their impact against each
other. It cannot be said, that their motion is kept up by that of
neighbouring bodies, for the vibration of all particles in nature would
very soon cease for the same reason.
The expansion, which a hot body produces, in one of a lower tem-
perature, arises from the divellent power becoming superior to their
attraction, and producing a slow and progressive separation of the par-
ticles of the latter, which power, as above shewn, cannot depend upon
a vibratory motion, for any such motion must soon cease. And even
could such motion last, it would not be increased by superior vibrations
in another body, but lessened. If two vibrating bodies are brought into
contact, their vibrations cease directly, from the one body being a
mechanical obstacle to any motions in the other. But, if the motion
in the one is greater, it will still more check any motion in the other,
not only from the obstacle arising from its contact, but also from its
increased impact, unless it be supposed, that the particles of the two
bodies happen to be moving in the same direction, at the instant of
their contact. This, which would involve the idea, that all particles
in nature are always oscillating in the same direction, at the same
moment of time, is moreover contrary to a supposition in the above
theory, that bodies of different temperatures vibrate with different
velocities, from which their atoms would soon move in different direc-
tions at the same time.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 461
That the particles of solids are in a constant state of vibratory mo-
tion is incompatible with their mutual attractions, and their gravity.
If temperature depended on vibration of atoms, bodies would soon have
no temperature, (i. e. fall to natural zero,) for their particles would soon
cease to vibrate.
This theory cannot explain temperature ; for bodies would lose their
temperature if temperature be vibration . Nor capacity, if capacity be lati-
tude of motion. Nor could radiation take place, if radiated heat be vibra-
tions communicated through the air, for according to this theory, the par-
ticles of elastic fluids move with the greatest quickness. Thus, suppose
the particles of any body A, are vibrating at any given rate 10, and
those of another distant body B, at any less rate 8, as the air between
them is vibrating with the greatest quickness, let its rate be 20. If
the air vibrating at the rate 20 does not increase the rate of vibration
in A and B, how can it transmit from A to B the small difference of
their vibration ?— -or how can it receive vibrations from A, which vi-
brates at a less rate than itself. And moreover, as matter of some kind
must be present to transmit vibrations, radiation could not take place
through a vacuum, as it is known to do, unless the " subtle medium"
of Nbwton* be supposed to exist, which is not a part of this hypothesis,
and which, as will hereafter be shewn, is very nearly allied to the "mat-
ter of heat" of La voisibr.
That the repulsive force opposing attraction cannot be explained by
vibratory motions, supposed to exist in the atoms themselves of bodies,
has been, I trust, proved by numerous unanswerable objections.
2. That heat is a subtle, elastic fluid, pervading all bodies.
The doctrine of the materiality of heat has been adopted by the
greater part of modern philosophers ; and the cause of its entering
bodies, and separating their particles, has been explained in three ways :
First. — Bobrhaavb, with some other philosophers, attempted to ex-
plain the distribution of heat, solely by supposing that its particles are
mutually repellent. Hence its perfect elasticity, which it was supposed
would expand it equally through space, so that, in equal volumes of
•pace, there would be equal quantities of heat, whether occupied by
other matter or not. And hence he concluded that equal volumes of
matter always would contain equal quantities of heat.
That this is not the case, is proved by experiment, for equal volumes
of matter, it is well known, contain very different quantities of heat.
Moreover, the argument itself is not sound ; for very dense bodies, be-
tween the atoms of which a powerful attraction subsists, would never
• Treatise on Optics, Queiy 18.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
462 On the two great power t, [Skit.
admit heat, until it was so accumulated in rare bodies, that their elasti-
city was superior in force to the cohesion of dense bodies, which is so
far from being the case, that the elasticity of the atmosphere is eva-
nescent in comparison with the cohesion of most solids.
Secondly. — In his Elements of Chemistry Lavoisier proposed another
explanation of the action of heat, in these words : — " It is perhaps more
natural to suppose, that the particles of caloric have a stronger mutual
attraction, than those of any other substance ; and that these latter par-
ticles are torn asunder, in consequence of this superior attraction of the
particles of caloric, which forces them between the particles of other
bodies, that they may be able to reunite with each other*."
This hypothesis, which treats of heat as a non-elastic substance, is
liable to so many objections, that it has had very few advocates, and
was probably relinquished by its great author. It is only necessary to
remark one objection, which must have alone induced him to reject it.
If the particles of heat had an attraction for each other so far superior
to that apparent in the densest bodies, it is manifest, that it would not
be diffused through all bodies, but would collect itself into masses abso-
lutely dense, between the parts of which the atoms of no other bodies
could possibly exist.
Thirdly. — That doctrine of the nature and action of heat, which has
been much received of late years, and which was introduced by Dr.
Cleohorn, is so satisfactory, and conformed eo nearly to the phenomeaa
of the actions and motions of heat, that it may be considered as the
true explanation. This doctrine, as is well known, considers heat as a
body, whose particles are mutually repellent, but attract those of all
other bodies, with various degrees of force. Hence its perfect elasti-
city, and hence its presence in all bodies, but in various quantities in
each.
Previously to making any further inquiry into the laws and action
of heat, I propose to weigh the facts, which have been considered as
objections to its materiality, and to state various arguments in proof of
its materiality.
The following facts have been at various times opposed to the
material doctrine of heat :
1. That, when many bodies are subjected to percussion, much heat
is evolved. Iron may even be raised to a red heat. The explanation
of this, which has been given by others, does not perhaps place the
fact in quite so clear a light, as the following : — Since the force of
cohesion in iron is very powerful, it is plain, that the heat between its
• Elements of Chemistry, translated by Kama, page 72.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 463
atoms most be compressed with great force, and must exert an equal
repulsion. If the compressing force is suddenly increased, so also must
the repulsion, the iron being somewhat condensed. But, when these
forces become superior to the affinity, which detains the heat in the
iron, it is manifest that part of the heat must leave the iron, and this
will take place until the affinity for the remaining heat becoming very
great, little or none can be evolved, and the density cannot be increas-
ed. — This explanation is verified by the experiment. Less and less
heat is evolved, at every succeeding blow, until at last little or none
can be driven out, and here condensation ceases.
2. That much heat is made sensible by the friction and attrition of
many bodies.
Since the particles of heat attract so powerfully, the atoms of all other
bodies, as to enter even the densest, much more then will they be ac-
cumulated on the surface of bodies, and endow them with a repulsive
force. Hence the fact that two plates of glass cannot be brought into con-
tact, as Nswton has shewn*. But if two bodies, rubbing againste ach
other, have this superficial heat compressed, with a force superior to that
which detains the most distant particles of it (which from their distance
must be weakly attracted), it must happen, that part of the heat will
be separated, while the friction lasts, and will be renewed as soon as
it ceases. This explanation, which I have given of the fact, appears
to render it perfectly conformable with the material doctrine of heat.
As, in attrition, both the forces of friction and percussion on compres-
sion operate, there will be a double cause for heat becoming sensible,
which has been just explained under the two former heads. The ex-
periment of Rumford, in which much heat was evolved, in the boring
of metal, and yet the parts torn off appeared to possess their former
capacity, has been sufficiently explained by Mr. Dalton in these words :
" The fact is, the whole mass of metal is more or less condensed, by
the violence used in boring, and a rise of temperature of 70° or 100° is
too small to produce a diminution in its capacity for heat. Does Count
Rumford suppose, that if in this case the quantity of metal operated on
had been lib. and the dust produced the same as above, that the whole
quantity of heat evolved would have been the samef?"
3. The fact, that heat is evolved, in the sudden change of gunpow-
der, by explosion from the solid to the aerial state, has been consider-
ed as an objection to this doctrine of heat ; for this appears contrary to
* Treatise on Optics, Query 31.
t New System of Chemical Philosophy, page 98.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
464 On the two grit powers, [Sarr.
the known law, that in a change from a dense to a rarer state, heat is
not evolved, but on the contrary becomes latent. Though this is al-
most an invariable law, in a simple change of any solid A, into a gat
A ; yet if in becoming gaseous, A undergoes a change into another
gas, B, an absorption of heat is not a necessary consequence ; for the
heat in the solid A may be sufficient to keep B in the state of gas,
or may even be more than requisite, in which case some heat will be
evolved.
Thus the oxygen, in the nitre of the gunpowder, during the explo-
sion combines with the carbon and sulphur. The carbonic and
sulphureous acid gases may not require so much heat for their existence
in the gaseous state, as is afforded by the solid oxygen ; hence heat
will be evolved. If the experiments of Lavoisier and Crawfurd may
be admitted as at all correct, they will prove the justness of this ex-
planation.
Lavoi8ibr inferred from his experiments, on the combinations of
oxygen gas, that in nitre it retains £ of the heat, on which its gaseous
state had depended. Crawfurd has stated the capacity of oxygen gas,
as much greater than that of any of its compounds, and hence | of its
heat will be more than sufficient to supply the latent heat of the
carbonic and sulphureous acid gases, formed in this instance.
The late experiments of MM. Clbmbnt and Dxsormbs, if correct,
would show that the capacity of carbonic acid gas is equal or superior
to that of oxygen, and would increase the difficulty of the explanation
by making the one offered inadmissible. It must however be consi-
dered, that no conclusion can be drawn with regard to the habitudes of
caloric from instances of sudden and violent chemical and mechanical
action. Thus no small part of the heat may be liberated by the
resistance offered by the air to the sudden expansion of the gases
formed. Whence much heat that would have been latent became
caloric of temperature at the moment of the explosion, and whatever
was extricated would be readily absorbed again from the air on the
diffusion of the gaseous products of the powder.
Again, in so great a chemical change we cannot from any established
law affirm, a priori, that heat should be either liberated or absorbed.
Admitting the capacity for heat of the gaseous products to equal, or
even exceed, that of the gases condensed in the nitre of the powder,
it does not all follow that the latent heat due to the gaseous state
of the former should equal that of the latter gases ; and these appear in
nitre to retain this heat, though solidified by the intensity of the
affinities.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
183*.] On Progressive Development, fa. 465
IT.— On Progressive Development in the cold-bloodedVertebrata. By D.W.
Nash, Asst. Surgeon, Beng. Est. A. L. S. Corresp. Member S. A. ^£$>
Among the many important considerations embraced by the theore- '
tical department of geological science, the question of the gradual
transition of fossil remains in the strata which form the crust of our
globe,— the supposed development of the forms of organic life in a
progressive and ascending series,— and the application by analogy of
this hypothesis founded on actual observations of that which has been,
to the phenomena which are daily recognized in the present state of
things,— are subjects of the greatest interest to the geologist and natu-
ralist, while to the cause of science in general their elucidation is of
considerable importance.
On these questions the most eminent authorities among modern
geologists are divided^and though not perhaps so violent in the expres-
sion of their opinions as the Neptunists and Plutonists of a former
day, the advocates and opponents of the theory of progressive develop,
ment have entered with no, little warmth into this interesting contro-
versy.
Mr. Lyell in his Principles of Geology, in speaking of the conclu-
sions arrived at by Sir H. Davy from the consideration of geological
data, expressly states, that, "the theory of progressive development
of organic life from the simplest to the most complicated forms, has
no foundation in fact."
On the other hand many observers equally high in scientific
reputation have imagined that they see, not only in the fossil monu-
ments of former worlds, the imperishable evidences of a state of
things differing from, and antecedent to, that now under our observa-
tion,— but also in the organization of the present inhabitants of our
globe, indisputable proofs of a progressive advance to perfection in the
forms of organic life.
It cannot be denied that the fossil remains which have been observed
in the different strata of the earth's crust, are arranged very nearly
in the order which the animals to whom they belonged, occupy in the
natural system of zoology ;— that those genera which zoologists are
agreed in considering as the least developed forms are found in the
lowest or most ancient formations, and that, as we ascend from the
primitive through the transition, secondary, and tertiary rocks, new
and more perfect forms of life meet us at every step of the investiga-
tion. &
Digiti
zed by G00gle
466 On Progressive Development [Sift.
Setting ask]? the consideration of the order in which the de-
velopment of the invertebrate classes has proceeded, as embracing too
wide a field and requiring a minute investigation of the anatomical
relations of this vast class of animals, the cold-blooded vertebrata
appear to offer the most convenient opportunity of observing the ana-
logies which subsist between animals of the same type of conforma-
tion, but differing in the degree of perfection at which their various
systems of organs have arrived.
It appears that at one period of the earth's history — that in which
the deposition of the secondary formations was taking place, — circum-
stances were highly favorable to the development of the cold-blooded
tribes of vertebrata. The oceans swarmed with enormous cephalopoda,
with gigantic individuals of a saurian race which has long since vanish-
ed from the surface of the globe, but whose remains scattered in such
profusion through the oolitic group furnish the zoologist with data
which enable him to fill np many apparent vacuities in the scale of the
creation.
Nor, as might have been expected, if we determine to admit the
present as the only true standard by which to judge of the state of
things in past epochs, was this form of organization chiefly peculiar to
the inhabitants of the waters ; the ancient continents contained animals
of this type only ; the megalosaurus and the iguanodon peopled the
forests ; the banks of the rivers and fresh-water lakes were frequented
by crocodiles and huge salamanders, while the pterodactyli pursued
their prey amid the palms, the cycadea, and the tree ferns, of the
primeval Flora. But not until after the deposition of the great cal-
careous formation do we find any trace of the existence of a warm-
blooded animal : not even the most strenuous advocates for the unifor-
mity of the past and present operations of nature have been able to
prove that animal life had progressed so far as the development of the
class mammalia, or of birds, until after the epoch just alluded to.
The only exception to be made with regard to this statement is met
with in three or four specimens consisting of fragments of the lower
jaw of an animal which has been pronounced by the highest authority to
have been a species of didelphis. This fossil, discovered in the Stones*
field slate, a member of the oolitic series, lying below the cornbrash.
and above the Bath oolite, contains nine similar acuminated molaree.
terminating in three elevated points; but as no living didelphis
possesses this number of molar teeth on one side of the jaw, and as
those of the didelphis present the characters of insectivorous teeth.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] in the cold-blooded Vertebrata. 467
it may be permitted to entertain a doubt as to the animal to which
this specimen should be referred.
The shape of the teeth appear to indicate a carnivorous character
in the animal to which they belonged, and bear a considerable resem-
blance to the molares of the seal.
Supposing this to be the case, the position of this fossil would not
be, as Mr. Ltbll imagines, as fatal to the theory of successive deve-
lopment as if several hundreds had been discovered, since its appear-
ance is subsequent to the period in which the great Saurian reptiles
were the most abundant; and should it prove to belong to the genus
phoca or to some cetaceous animal, it would be an example of the com-
mencement of the type of mammalia in one of the least perfect tribes
of the order, and therefore an additional argument in favor of the
theory it is intended to subvert.
In endeavoring to show that there actually does exist what haa
been called a stimulus of perfection in the organic world, it will be
necessary to take a system of organs in its most imperfect form, and to
investigate the steps by which nature has succeeded in effecting a
series of gradual improvements.
Of the various functions conducing to the preservation of the
individual, none is of more importance than that by means of which
the oxygenization of the blood is effected, and this fluid rendered fit
for repairing the waste of the body, and supplying materials for the
growth and increase of the different organs. The development of the
respiratory and circulating systems will necessarily be in a certain
and constant ratio to each other, and, wherever we see a perfect respi-
ratory apparatus, we have an indication of a proportionally complicated
set of organs for the circulation of the blood, and consequently an
increase in the irritability and nervous energy of the animal.
The respiration of the embryo in warm-blooded animals is at first
solely cutaneous, and the heart consists of two cavities, both systemic,
as no respiratory organs are developed. The systemic ventricle is
then divided by a septum, and the right ventricle thus formed is pro-
longed into a tube which opens into the aorta subsequently to the
origin of the branches which supply the upper portion of the trunk.
This prolongation of the right ventricle is called the ductus arteriosus*
and from it are given off small branches, which go to supply the lungs.
The circulation is now that of a reptile, the heart in effect consisting
of two auricles and a ventricle ; but on the emergence of the animal
from its foetal state, the lungs become the immediate organs of respi-
ration ; the blood is more perfectly oxygenized ; the irratibility of the
2o 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
468 On Progressive Development [Sbft.
animal increased ; the ductus arteriosus is obliterated ; its pulmonic
branches alone give a passage to the blood, the whole of which, now
undergoing the necessary changes in the lungs, is sent from the sys-
temic side of the heart to perform its functions in the animal system.
There is now therefore a heart of four cavities, and a perfect system
of respiration, in short, that of the highest type, birds and mammalia.
The first appearance of that form of organization which runs through aH
the vertebrated classes is to be found in the most perfectly developed
tribe of the invertebrata, the naked cephalopoda. The chambered
and convoluted shell of the nautilus and the ammonite may be traced
. in the internal skeleton of the sepia, which consists of numerous coo-
centric lamellae of carbonate of lime, connected by an infinite number
of siphonculi running right angles to them. Now suppose each
lamella separated from that next to it, and the number of connecting
siphonculi reduced to one between each lamina, and a polythalamoos
shell will be produced.
Still higher we find in the loligo a single cartilaginous plate,
somewhat concave anteriorly, as though its edges were approximating
to form a tube, enclosed within the mantle, and lying posterior to all
the organs of respiration, circulation, digestion, &c. This cartilagin-
ous plate performs the office, though imperfectly, of a vertebral column,
forming an organ of protection for the nervous system. The carbonate
of lime, so universal in the external skeletons of all the Mollusca, hat
here entirely disappeared, as though preparatory to the introduction
of a new element characteristic of the skeletons of the higher classes,
the phosphate of lime. By a very easy transition from this simple
skeleton of the loligo we pass to the lowest of the cartilaginous fishes,
where in the petromyzon, the vertebral column presents a form almost as
rudimentory.
The respiratory and circulatory apparatus in the loligo are very
nearly the same as in fish, being entirely aquatic ; the aeration of the
blood takes place in the branchiae, placed on each side, hanging freely
in the cavity of the mantle, and fixed on their dorsal aspect to cartila-
ginous lamina?, which may be considered the rudiments of branchial
arches.
The blood brought by the venae cavae to two muscular cavities
called auricles, and thence sent to the branchiae, is returned to a third
muscular heart, to which the name of ventricle has been given. There
is here no essential difference from the circulatory organs in fishes.,
but a lower degree of development is indicated in the permanent dis-
union of the muscular hearts, a concentration of organs being one of
the most characteristic features in perfection of development.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] At the coldblooded Vertebrata. 463
In the most simple of the cartilaginous fishes the vertebral articula-
tions are not distinguishable; the spinal column is little more than a
cartilage through which are dispersed granules of phosphate of lime,
and even in osseous fishes the proportion of earthy matters contained
in the skeleton is comparatively small.
The normal form of the vertebrae in fish is, a cylindrical body with
two concave, cup-like articulating surfaces ; the interval between two
vertebrae being filled up by a fibro-cartilage, which of course presents
two globular surfaces corresponding to the cavities of the vertebrae :
this circumstance is of considerable importance, as we shall be able
to show the steps by which a transition from this form, typical in fish,
to the vertebra of a reptile has been effected.
The lateral development and extensive mobility of the intermaxil-
lary bones are also worthy of observation, as the same characters
obtain in the next class, the Batrachia.
In the petromyxon, the nervous system exists in a very rudimentary
condition — very much in the state in which we observe it in the em-
bryo of the chick ; two delicate cords, placed along the back, and giving
off from their sides other nervous filaments.
The two nervous cords developed in the embryo upon the serous
layer of the germinal membrane diverge anteriorly to enclose three
spaces, which being afterwards filled up by cineritious matter become
the medulla oblongata, the optic lobes, and the hemispheres of the
brain. In the class of fishes the optic lobes, dedicated to the supply
of organs of sensation merely, are nearly double the size of the
hemispheres ; but as we ascend in the scale, the latter become gradually
larger and extended backwards in proportion as the former are retard-
ed in development, and also in some indefinable ratio to the power
and extent of the intellectual faculties.
The organs of respiration in the class of fishes are always branchial,
but present some differences in the two great divisions of the order,
the cartilaginous and osseous fishes. In the latter the branchiae,
formed by innumerable ramifications of the branchial arteries, hang
suspended from the branchial arches, having their outer edges free
and movable. The water which is drawn into the mouth by the
action of the os hyoides and branchial arches, passes over these vas-
cular follicles, and escapes by an opening common to all the branchiae
of one side, and defended by a valvular structure composed of an
opercular membrane and a bony operculum.
In the cartilaginous fishes, on the contrary, with the exception of
two families, the sturgeons and the chimeras, the branchiae, instead of
Digiti
zed by G00gle
470 On Progressive Development [Shit.
having a free margin, are fixed, being connected with the integument
by their external border. The consequence of this conformation is,
that the water which passes over the branchiae makes its exit through
distinct canals opening on the surface, whose number varies from
four to seven in different genera of the order.
In all this may be observed an evident tendency to a higher degree
of development, an attempt on the part of nature to cause the respi-
ratory apparatus of the most perfect of the class of fishes to assume
the appearance of that possessed by the most inferior among reptiles,
and the next step will be to inquire whether there is not to be found
some intermediate state between the two.
The larva of the common frog is, during its larva condition, bond
fide, a fish ; its respiration is aquatic ; its circulation double ; it possess-
es four branchiae on each side, suspended from branchial arches, not
enclosed however by an operculum as in fish, but hanging free from
each side of the neck. The heart consists of two cavities, an auricle
and a ventricle ; the whole of the blood passes through the branchiae by
four branchial arteries on each side; it is returned by as many branchial
veins, which afterwards unite to form the abdominal aorta. This cir-
culation is strictly branchial not systemic, and is in every respect the
circulation of a fish. During this fish-like condition of the larva, the
spinal cord presents no enlargements in its course, and extends down
through a number of coccygeal vertebrae ; at this period also the optic
lobes are larger than the hemispheres of the cerebrum, as in fish.
This then may be considered to be the intermediate point of deve-
lopment between two series of forms of animal life, and here is the
stage from whence to set out in marking the changes which are re-
quired to render, not only the same type, but the same individual capa-
ble of exercising its functions in a medium very different from that in
which it originally existed.
After remaining in its icthyoid condition for an indefinite period of
time, the duration of which is influenced by a variety of circumstances
immediately affecting the development of the animal, as temperature,
the action of light, the abundance or scarcity of food, &c. the tadpole
begins to undergo certain changes, which are the prelude to a complete
metamorphosis; changes which are to give it the organs and habitudes
of a land animal, and enable it to act a part in a situation totally foreign
to that to which it has been accustomed.
This first of this series of changes takes place in the nervous system.
The direction of development, which has hitherto been longitudinal,
becomes lateral ; the spinal cord shrinks up, and the coccygeal verte-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] in the cold-Hooded Vertebrata. 471
brae of the tail are gradually absorbed ; enlargements of the cord are
evident at the points where the organs of locomotion are to be pro-
duced, and shortly after these organs begin to display themselves.
At the same time an important change takes place in the relative
magnitude of the hemispheres of the brain and the optic lobes. In
fish, as before stated, the optic lobes are the larger, the hemispheres
having attained but a very inferior degree of development ; during the
metamorphosis of the larva, the latter rapidly increase in size, till they
have become considerably larger than the optic lobes ; the olfactory
tubercles are no longer separated from the hemispheres ; the whole
cerebral mass having assumed a more concentrated form, instead of
presenting the appearance of a number of imperfectly united ganglia.
In speaking of the mode in which the blood circulates in the larva,
I described four branchial arteries on each side, passing to as many
respiratory organs, and conveying to them the blood which is to
undergo the process of oxygenization.
Synchronously with the change which the nervous system undergoes,
this mode of circulation experiences considerable and important alter-
ations ; — the anterior branchial arteries, which are so many subdivi-
sions of the aorta, are obliterated — the posterior branchial artery alone
remaining pervious ; while its numerous ramifications are reduced to a
single trunk, the union of which with the artery of the opposite side
forms the trunk of the abdominal aorta. From the thoracic aorta is
given off on each side a small pulmonary twig, which now becomes
the channel through which the blood passes to the organs of aeration.
Another remarkable circumstance is the change which now takes
place in the form of the vertebrae. The vertebra of a fish, we have said,
presents two cup-like articular surfaces, the space intermediate between
two vertebrae being filled up by elastic cartilage. The vertebrae of
reptiles always present one convex and own concave articular surface,
the globular head of one vertebrae fitting into the concavity of the one
immediately below it, so as to form a ball and socket joint. While in
the tadpole state, the vertebrae of the animal resemble those of fish ;
but it was observed by Dutrochbt, that, at the period when the change
in the respiratory apparatus was going on, the intervertebral substances
became ossified, each uniting itself to the vertebra immediately pre-
ceding.
When the metamorphosis has been fully accomplished, the lungs of
the adujt animal are found to be tolerably perfect, but still not so
minutely cellular, and consequently not presenting so extensive a sur-
face for the aeration of the blood as in the higher reptiles. Never*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
472 On Progreswive Development [Sarr.
theless, the respiratory organ would appear to have made its appear-
ance in so perfect a form rather suddenly on the stage, if we were not
able to trace it progress towards perfection from fishes themselves
through other members of the Batrachian tribe, up to the point where
we have seen it completely formed, and capable of exercising all its
functions in the adult frog. For this purpose we must return to oar
examination of the class of fishes.
All fish, with the exception of the genus pleuronectes, are furnished
with an air-bladder, for the most part entirely isolated from say
communication with the atmosphere, and inflated with an aeriform
fluid, secreted sometimes by the internal walls of the airsac itself,
sometimes by a distinct glandular organ attached to it. The air coa-
tained in this bag is found to vary with the habitude of the animal, the
quantity of oxygen being increased in proportion to the depth of
water which it inhabits.
This air-bag, which is totally imperforate in the least perfect osseous
fishes, is found to communicate with the external atmosphere in the
most perfect osseous, and in the cartilaginous, fishes ; in the carp it
opens by a long canal into the stomach, in the sun fish and in the stur-
geon it communicates with the oesophagus.
In the proteus anguinus and the siren lucertina, animals belonging
to that division of the Batrachia called perennibranchia, from the
circumstances of their retaining their branchiae and their aquatic mode
of life during the whole term of their existence — we find two air sacs,
very similar in appearance to the air-bladders of fishes, each communi-
cating by a narrow membranous tube with the pharynx. Upon these
sacs a minute branch sent off previously to the origin of the branchial
arteries, is seen to ramify, but the influence which can be exerted on
the circulation by this means is too slight to be taken into considera-
tion.
Advancing one step higher in the scale, we come to animals
which at a certain period of their life lose the organs of aquatic
respiration, and breathe atmospheric air only by means of lungs — in
short, undergo the metamorphosis we have been considering in the
larva of the frog.
This change is first observed in the tritons or salamanders,
belonging to that family of Batrachia which from the circumstances
indicated has derived the epithet caducibranchue. In these animals
the lungs still retain the form of simple sacs, in the upper and back
part of which a cellular structure and more complex ramification of
the pulmonary vassels begins to appear — a structure which is at length
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1883.] fa ike coldblooded Vertebifotm. 473
perfected in the family of the Crocodilida, where the most complete
system of respiration obtains among reptiles.
It has dow been shown, that in the two great systems which exer-
cise the most important influence Over the development of the animal,
there is a gradual and well-marked progression towards perfection in
the organs by aid of which these functions are performed ; and that
it does not require the aid of the imagination to trace the steps by
which the simple air-sac of the sturgeon has passed through the inter-
vening stages in the proteus and the triton to the elementary lung
of the frog and the more perfect organ of the crocodile.
It will be as easy to show that the same system of gradual progression
has been followed throughout all the members of the series : the links
which unite Batrachia with the Ophidian reptiles, and these latter with
the Saurian tribes, are too evident to render necessary a lengthened
detail.
In the genua cmcilia we are supplied with the form which connects
the Batrachia with the serpent race. The auricle presents a partial
septum, an indication of the change to be effected in the heart of the
true serpents, where there are three distinct cavities. In the arrange-
ment of the teeth upon the maxillary and palatine bones, the cacilia
resembles the proteus, but in the shape of the teeth comes nearer the
true Ophidia.
With regard to the respiratory organs, the left lung is, as in ser-
pents, retarded in development. The skin is soft and naked as in Ba-
trachia, but according to Baron CtrviBR, it contains, within its substance,
small scales regularly disposed in transverse bands. The true serpents
are separated from the Saurian reptiles by the total absence of any ves-
tige of sternum or extremities *; this is the most prominent character,
and will therefore be the most easily traced.
If we passed at once from Ophidia, where extremities are totally
wanting, to the lizards where they are perfectly formed, we might sup-
pose that there had been a sudden production in one order, of an organ,
of which we had observed no elementary condition in the order imme-
diately preceding ; a circumstance entirely at variance with all that
has hitherto been observed.
But in this instance, as in every other, there have been successive
stages through which the organs of locomotion have passed. There is
a small family of reptiles placed between Sauria and Ophidia, in whom
these organs are seen to be gradually developed. In the anguis and
the opkioaunu a rudimentary sternum and pelvis are concealed beneath
the integuments ; in the scheltopusik a small femur has been added,
2 p
Digiti
zed by G00gle
474 On Progressive Development, *c. JSmrr.
which here commences to display itself externally. From hence Hie
gradual progress of the organ may he traced through the ckimtes. the
bipes and the seps.
In the same way may he seen the gradual increase in the sfce of the
left lung which had been retarded in growth in Ophidia— and the pro-
gressive perfection of the organs of sense, of the osseous, and of the ner*
vous systems. With regard to Chelonia, the highest in the class of cold-
blooded vertebrata, the consideration of the numerous analogies which
their anatomical structure shows to exist between them and warm-
blooded animals, the commencement of a perfect division of the ven-
tricle, and the evident transition from these animals to the class of
birds, are subjects which would extend this paper beyond the limits of
a brief memoir.
In the endeavour to trace the connection between these different
tribes of animals, it is to be remembered that the materials for investiga-
tion are comparatively few ; that unacquainted as we are with the inter-
nal structure, and more minute anatomical relations of the extinct
races, we are deprived of the evidence most material to our cause ; yet
imperfect as our knowledge of these animals must necessarily be. we
are able to trace in their analogies with existing genera, a type inter-
mediate between two important divisions of the animal kingdom, and
occupying permanently the station now held temporarily by Batrachia
during their metamorphosis.
Examples of this kind, where the intermediate stages apparently
wanting in our systems of zoology are to be discovered in the ancient
strata of the earth, are very numerous. Among the fossil Echinoder-
mata in the chalk formation, the gradation of development, from the
flattened and ramified euryale, through the clypeaster, thesentelU,
the ananchite, the galerite and the spatangus, to the concentrated
and spherical form of the cidaris and echinus, must strike die most
cursory observer. The tertiary strata of the Paris basin, have furnish-
ed us with the links which were wanting in the order Pachydermata to fill
up the hiatus which separated the pig and the tapir from the ele-
phant.
If these observations be correct, no organ or system of organs, nor
any new type in the animal world, can be said to have suddenly appear-
ed on the stage of existence. There are certain laws to which nature
herself is compelled to submit, and by which all her operations must here.
gulated ; and notwithstanding the weight which attaches to the opinions
of the learned professor already quoted, I cannot help believing that
amongst them is to be found the law of progressive development.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Geological Remarks, SfC. 475
III. — Some Geological Remarks made in the country between MirsapUr
ami Sagar, and from Sdgar Northwards to the Jamna. By the Rev.
R. Everest, F. G. S. *c. W^
MirxapCr is situated on a kankar bank on the southern side of the
Ganges, and somewhat higher above the level of the water than
these banks usually are. The steep side of it, towards the river, shows
a section of strata similar to what is usually observed in this formation,
viz. beds of clay and calcareous marl of different colours with nodules
of limestone imbedded in them. The lowermost of these beds exhibit
some inclination and faults in particular places, which indicate that
they have suffered some disturbance since their deposition. Upon
these the upper beds rest horizontally and unconformably. One or two
casts of shells (apparently fresh -water) and some small fragments of
vegetable stems, were the only remains I could observe. Bat the
appearance of the kankar nodules here marks more strongly their
origin than in any place I have yet seen. They are mostly of
the form of stalactites, from the size of a finger to that of a wrist in
thickness, and, when broken, shew a compact, splintery, bluish-grey
limestone, with occasionally minute scales of silvery mica disseminated
through it. Occasionally too they are dependent from the roofs of
small cavities in the clay-beds, and at other times spread out into
layers, so as to form a complete seam of limestone. Before quitting
the subject of kankar, I wish to notice a remark I have sometimes
heard made, that probably the formation of kankar is yet going on.
Mr. Piddington alludes to this in his remarks on the silt deposited by
the river Hugll, and from his analysis it would appear that the quan-
tity of carbonate of lime in the silt is considerable. That kankar may
be yet forming in many places where calcareous springs are now
ranning, cannot admit of doubt ; but that it is at present depositing
from the waters of the Hugll or Ganges I am inclined to disbelieve.
For, were this actually the case, we might expect to find kankar on
low tracts that had been flooded, after the retiring of the annual inun-
dations; whereas the very reverse of this happens. As far as my experi-
ence goes, kankar is never found on the low grounds that are inundat-
ed. On the contrary the kankar banks are the only parts of the
country that remain several feet above the level of the highest floods*.
• Considerable deposits, however, of saline matter are to be found on lands
Of ei flow ed by the Jamna, when the rains are orer ; which, of coarse, are a recent
formation : bnt the saline deposits, as I bare noticed elsewhere, are usually above
the present level of the floods.
2? 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
476 Geological Remarks between [Sbff.
At the distance of four or five miles to the south of Mirzapur we
come to the sandstone range, about 200 feet high, and presenting a
steep escarpment to the alluvial plain at its base. Thence it sweeps
round in a N. W. direction to Vinddchal, where it may be traced
nearly to the bank of the river. The front of it towards the water
is covered with rounded boulders nearly to its summit. Prom hence
this range extends to Chunar, as may be seen in Captain Franklin's
map, and east of that to a place called Jemorah, where I have before
mentioned it as occurring. It preserves here the same character as
at that place, viz. that of a small-grained, highly consolidated sandstone
approaching to quartz rock, usually of a greenish grey or faint pink
colour, and splitting into large slabs of divers thicknesses. At VMucM
the general dip is to the west at an angle from 5* to 20^. Further to
the east, where the road to Sdgar ascends it at the pass of Tdrd, the
dip is to the west, and scarcely perceptible. At the Tdrd waterfall a
deep section may be seen of it. It presents no variety of character,
nor is it at all interstratified with marls or shales. At the foot of the
pass I found an efflorescence of soda on a kankar bank, similar to what
occurs in the plain to the N. W. of Ghdzipur.
After ascending the pass we travel over a country nearly flat and
covered with soil and vegetation. About 20 miles further on, at
Ldtganj, the rock was laid bare in the bed of a small nullah dipping
slightly to the north. The soil above it contained pieces of kankar
and iron ore, similar to what occurs about BankHra and elsewhere.
Nine miles further on in the bed of the Balan river, the rock was ex-
posed with a slight dip to the west. At the foot of the Kattru pass (for
the situation of which I beg to refer to Capt. Franklin's map, (Trans.
Phys. CI. vol. i.) I met with soda efflorescing, and kankar, at the side
of a ravine, as I had done before at Tdrd. From Kattrm the road
winds up a precipitous ascent over strata of sandstone dipping to
the N. W. The sandstone does not appear to differ from that of the
lower platform from Kattra to Tdrd, but it is here interstratified with
thick beds of red and greenish-grey marl-slate, and rarely with thin
layers of a rock resembling greywacke, rather dark-coloured but eon*
taining pieces of slate imbedded. At Mowganj, two marches beyond
Kattra, the dip of the rock was N. B. at an angle of from 10° to la%
as seen in the bed of the nala. At Lewr, a little further on, they
wore quarrying a slaty marl, with shining facets and white streaks
running through it. These streaks are calcareous and effervesce strong*
ly with acids. Pieces of a compact splintcy limestone are also to lie
found lying about on the surface. The strata here are horizontal. In the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
}883.) Mirzapur and Sdgar. 477
Pakariga mold, between Lour and Afangowa, we first came to a thick
slaty limestone, generally whitish, earthy, and marly, and varying
to yellowish, greyish, and fine splintery. At Mangowa the dip was
to the north, a red slaty marl. About this part of the country we begin
to see a distant range of hills, bounding our prospect to the south and
sooth* west, — the Kymur hills ; judging from the outline, they appear to
be sandstone with a horizontal stratification, and look as if a third
platform or table-land existed in that direction. Beyond Raypur a
low hill appeared to the south of the road, of a thick slaty limestone
similar to that at Pakkiriga : the dip very slight and irregular ;
layers of a black kind of porphyry are interetratified with it. This
Mack rock sometimes changes suddenly to white, and appears vitrified
exactly like porcelain. At Rewah the limestone was extensively laid
bare in the bed of the river, but it is here principally massive, passing
from greyish to bluish black and black, and exactly resembling the
mountain limestone of England. At Rdmpur, one march beyond
JUwok, strata of red and variegated marl, most of them calcareous,
were exposed in the bed of the rivulet for two or three miles to the
Kmth ; — dip slight to the north. Beyond Rdmptir the same bluisj}
Hack limestone appeared as at Rewah. At Patrdhat a similar limes
stone was resting on the variegated marl slates, with a slight $p to
the north. Near Lokdwtl we passed over horizontal beds of a crumb-
ling green and red marl for a considerable distance. At Nagowar a
thnjlar limestone appeared to that at Patrdhat, resting (ike it upon
the marl slate. But it here appears to abound in what I believe to be
coralline remains, I might rather say, to be entirely composed of
them. I forbear describing them, as I have sent specimens with this
psper, which can be examined by those who have means of reference
at hand*. I was not fortunate enough to discover any of the stems of
ferns and gryphite shells, described by Capt. Franklin ; nor in my
whole journey over this limestone did I meet with any other kind of
organic remains than the one I have just now spoken of, though I
nude diligent search for them during a whole fortnight. They most,
therefore, be extremely rare, and in this respect the limestone driers
widely tram any of the English limestones above the new red sand*
stone. From this place we passed alternately over strata of sandstone,
red marl slate, and limestone, without being able to trace their con-
section with each other, until we came to Uattah. Here on the slope
9 The specimens are deposited in the As. Soc. Museum : but their nature has
not been ascertained. Tbey are identical with what Franklin named " items of
ferns." See As. Res. xtiii. p. 29.— Bn.
zed by G00gle
478 Geological Remarks between [Smrr.
to the east of the village were horizontal strata of sandstone exposed
to view ; at the first nala, lower down, was a whitish argillaceous
limestone overlaid by sandstone ; at a nala still lower down, layers
of sandstone, limestone, and red marl slate were to be seen interstratined.
A few miles further on, at Nagar, a low cliff on the side of the river
Sonar shewed a section of the strata as follows : uppermost layers,
sandstone ; — middle, red marl slate ; — lowest (in bed of the river) argil-
laceous limestone. I had before conjectured that this would be the cue
from the continual alternations of sandstone and limestone, every mDe
or two along the road by which we had travelled, though both were
horizontally stratified, and little or no difference of level was to be
noticed. This led me to conclude that the limestone was of no great
thickness, nothing more indeed than a bed in the sandstone, and the
appearances I have now described at Hattah and Nagar confirm this.
Capt. Franklin speaks of the limestone being not more than 100 feet
thick upon the sandstone, I have never found it 10 feet thick, without
layers of sandstone interstratined. Beds of limestone of a similar
kind do not appear to be uncommon in this formation : near Glept-
jnfr, about 35 miles to the south of Ghdzipur, I had an oppor-
tunity of examining one of these. The sandstone range there presents
nearly the same appearance as at the back of Minapiir, except that
it is somewhat higher, and the dip, as far as I traced it, (which was
about 20 miles to the eastward) is inwards, or to the south and south*
west. At a place called Mueeaye the limestone may be seen cropping
out at the base of a sandstone hill, and dipping at a considerable angle
to the south. It is usually slaty, but varies much in character in
other respects, passing from grey to black, and then resembling the
English mountain limestone. No remains could be found in it, bat
about 10 miles to the eastward it is seen again at Bitrdband. Bat I
have neither seen, here nor elsewhere, any of the beds of loose slate
and clay that accompany the lias in England. Were it necessary to
class these with any of the European formations, transition limestone
would be the most proper name for them. Though it is certainly more
correct to consider them merely as beds in the sandstone ; which sand-
stone, it must be remembered, is never found reposing on any bat
primitive rock.
As we leave Patteria, the easternmost extremity of the hills of trap
fronts us, and the road winds along it for some distance. For 30 or
40 miles to the east of this the strata of sandstone had become broken
and disturbed, dipping in various directions. Rolled pebbles of sand-
stone and pieces of agate and chalcedony are seen lying about, not
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Mirsapur and Sagar. 479
confined to the water •courses and lowest grounds, but extending over
the highest ridges. Near Patteria, the bank of the Sonar shewed a
section of a bed of pebbles several feet thick, containing fragments of
shells of the genera cycla8 f paludina, and unio. At Uslama I observ-
ed a carious appearance, which would lead to the inference that kankar
nodules and the soil in which they are imbedded were deposited on the
sandstone at a time when the latter was in a state very different from
what it is at present, viz. soft and flexible. At first sight it appeared
that the kunkar and soil were interstratified with the upper layers of
sandstone ; but on looking further it seemed that both had come in
from above through a fissure in the rock, and that the layers at the
edge of this fissure had been bent downwards, as if by the superin-
B
cumbent weight. Thus a| I a J A, layers of sandstone.
P p A $B, kankar and soil
Now no pressure however applied is sufficient to bend a layer of sand-
stone in its present state. In the ruined palace of Akbar at Fatteh*
par 8ikri, many slabs of sandstone that have formed parts of the roof
of the building may be seen broken asunder from long-continued pres*
lore, but none of them, though there are many entire, are in the
slightest degree bent.
At a short distance beyond Patteria the road passes over a white
earthy limestone rock, containing sandstone gravel imbedded. This,
in some places, loses all massive appearances, and becomes a collection
of nodules not differing from kankar. They are however more white
and earthy, approaching to the nature of chalk, than I have met with
in the country to the eastward. As we advance, the peculiar outlines
of basalt present themselves in the country round. The road soon
crosses what has apparently been a stream or coulee, and has taken
the lowest ground. It is dark-coloured, nearly black, and considerably
cellular on the outside ; yet this is an effect only produced by weather-
ing ; within, it is a solid hard basalt, of great specific gravity, and
containing olivine imbedded. The surface of the soil in the country
round is strewed with large round balls, resembling the volcanic bombs
of volcanic districts : but they too, although scoriaceous on the out-
Bide, are, within, a solid basalt. With these are found abundance of
agate and chalcedony. These appearances continue all the way to
Soger, and the rock does not differ in character, except that it some-
times becomes of a lighter colour, and is then in a high state of de-
composition, crumbling under the hand. Three or four miles before
reaching Sagar, where the road had been cut through the rock, a
Digiti
zed by G00gle
490 Geological Remarks betwet* [Stofr.
ridge of basalt affecting the columnar form is seen resting upon a
lighter coloured stratum, which shews by its state of decomposition,
its great antiquity. From all I have been able to see or learn of this
formation from others, it appears every where to preserve great uni-
formity of character, ajid resembles (as stated by Mr. Ltell when
speaking of it on the banks of the Nerbudda) the currents of prismatic
lava in Auvergne. Currents of porous lava, cones of cinders, scoria,
pumice, ashes, all those products that peculiarly belong to modern vol-
canic formations, are wanting. We meet every where with a compact
heavy basalt, with olivine sometimes and augite crystals imbedded, and
agates, chalcedony, and jasper in great variety and abundance. And
though some of the currents appear to have taken the lowest ground, yet
their outlines are so worn down and effaced, and their surfaces are so
deep in soil and vegetation, that it is difficult to assert even this with
certainty.
About a mile distant from Sdgar many white blocks appear-
ed by the road side, which I at first mistook for a kind of trachyte,
from the peculiar rugged appearance of them : add to this, that crys-
tals are disseminated in the porotis earthy base, looking just like the
crystals of glossy felspar in that mineral. On minuter inspection,
however, it is nothing but limestone. Its softness, its strong efferves-
cence in acid, and specific gravity, (2.67) separate it from every sob-
stance with which it might be confounded. Besides the form I have
mentioned, it sometimes becomes altogether earthy, and then reminds
us of the most common form of deposits from calcareous springs : at
other times it is altogether crystalline, and then passes into a fibrous
form, resembling satin-spar, or calcareous alabaster. It has been
deposited at the side of a coulee of basalt, and it is here that Capt
Slbbman discovered the remains of palm trees changed to a brown-
coloured flint, or rather jasper. As one kind of palm tree (the date
palm, I believe) yet commonly grows by the side of most running
streams in this part of the country, we have no reason to suppose
any change of climate to account for their appearance here. The
manner, however, in which they are scattered through the soil is not
so easily explained. They are usually found above the solid stratum of
calc-tuff, and a trunk is seldom found entire ; but they are in sharp angu-
lar* fragments, as if they had been shattered by a violent blow : with
them are pieces of the calc-tuff, which is found below. In the short
distance from Patteria to Sdgar we had met with two of these for-
• Nor do we find traces of any such substances disseminated through the
tufaceoui limestones, as is commonly the case in volcanic toff.
Digitized by
Google
1883.] Mtrzdpdr and Sdgar. 481
matrons*. They are nothing but kankar somewhat more developed,
and probably were deposited at a period when the continent was
raised above the level of the surrounding ocean. Among the remains,
however, from the neighbourhood of Jabalpur, which appear also
to have come from a recent calcareous deposit, are shells which appear
to be marine. At Tuismahl, about 30 miles north-east from Sdgar,
I had an opportunity of observing another mineral more largely de-
veloped than I had seen it in the country to the eastward. This is
the hydrated iron ore, which occurs in loose pieces about Bardwdn
and Bank lira, often accompanied by kankar. It is, I believe, the
laterite of Dr. Buchanan, and here forms the summit of the Tuismahl
hill in a bed of many feet in thickness. For the reason why a
deposit from springs can thus cap an isolated hill rising out of a plain*
I must refer to M. Montlosibr's ingenious explanation of the isolated
peaks and platforms of basalt in Auvergne. This mineral is largely
developed in the country to the north of Tuismahl, and is, I believe,
the ore which is usually smelted for iron.
We left Tuismahl in a N\ W. direction, and soon came upon
the sandstone again. It is, to be sure, occasionally to be seen
in isolated ridges rising out of the basalt ; but now this latter
disappears, and it becomes the formation of the whole country
round us. We find the basalt again some miles before reaching:
Issdgarh, a fortress about 50 miles north of Seronj, and it here
shews more symptoms of a recent formation than I have yet seen.
The coulees are better defined ; they have evidently, in some places,
taken the lowest ground, and their surface is yet rugged in »
degree, but their composition is, as before, a solid basalt. We quit
the basalt altogether at Issdgarh, and come upon the sandstone, which
we travel upon to Pahdrgarh, about 30 miles west of Gwalior, where
we descend into the plain, and find ourselves again among kankar
banks and ravines. The sandstone remains unaltered in character. In
the bed of the Betwa it was quartz rock. In the- country round Delhi
it is usually quartz rock, nearly perpendicular, and dipping to the
eastward. A few miles to the south of Pahargarh I observed a pecu-
liar appearance of the kankar. It forms a calcareous cement to a bed
of rounded pebbles, and above this forms another bed similar to those
which are to be seen so frequently on the banks of the Ganges.
* There is no known force but that of an earthquake that could produce such
effects. From Dr. Spilsbury's account of the fossil shells he found near Jahtf-
tfo t they appear to be scattered through the sod in a similar manner.
2 Q
Digiti
zed by G00gle
469 On the Native Alum or Salajit of Nepal. C 8 "*-
IV.— On (he Notice Alum or SolajU of Nepal By A. Campbell, Am***
Surgeon, djfc. ittS^
In the number of the Asiatic Society's Journal for June last, there is a
notice and analysis of one of the mineral productions of Nepal called " Sa-
lajit," or, by the natives of this place more commonly "Pathar ka PaseeoT
or simply " Paeeeo" (Sweat). As the analysis was furnished by Mr. Stkvw-
son with the object of bringing the substance to public notice towards its ex-
tensive employment in the arts, the following particulars regarding it may I
hope contribute in some degree to facilitate the above purpose. The specimen
analyzed by Mr. S. contained in 100 parts, 95 parts of sulphate of alumina,
but it is not generally speaking procurable in that state of purity ; the fol-
lowing, the result of examination by Captain Robinson of several portions ta-
ken at random from the bazar, shews more correctly the value of the miner-
al as it is obtainable in large quantity, and in the state in which alone it could
be made available for use in the arts. The purer portions being in euch de-
mand in medicine and surgery, are raised in price to an extent quite incom-
patible with their profitable application to the general uses of commerce. In
100 grains are contained, sulphate of alumina, 66.
The mineral in the above state (often more pure) is found throughout
the lower, central, and upper hills of Nepal. Its external characters are those
described by Mr. S.* save that the lumps have generally an admixture of
red sand, and frequently portions of micaceous stone embedded in them ;
some of the lumps have the smooth surface of stalactites, and are not unlike
these deposits. All are readily soluble in water, and when touched with the
tongue give the taste of common alum. It is said to exude in this
state from the surface of soft rocks ; and sometimes to be dug out of their
aubstanoe ; and from these sources it is collected in considerable quantities
during the cold and dry seasons, and carried by the Bhoteahs, Murmis, and
other hill people to Katmandu, to be exchanged with the merchants of that
city for money or other articles. From hence it is distributed thoughout
the valley in small portions for medical purposes, while the bulk of it is car-
ried to the plains of India by petty Newar merchants, and the numerous
Baiparis who annually visit this country from various adjacent, and remote
parts of Hindustan. The cost of production and transport of an article to
the scene of its consumption, is the first knowledge the trader wants ; and if
the price paid by Mr. S. for his specimen (one rupee for two rupees' weight)
was the real value of Salajit on the banks of the Ganges, its use in the aits
* In small ligbt lamp*, colour brownish white ; externally anhydrous ; internally sen-
crystalline ; fracture slightly fibrous, with a lustre resembling asbestos ; porou*, containing
small amities Hand with scarcely perceptible needle-like crystals ; adheres a little to the
tongue. Taste acidulous saline, soluble in twice its weight of distilled water ; specific
gravity not ascertained, but probably not quite double the weight of distilled water ;
friable.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Ift&l On tie Native Alum or SaldjU of Nepal. 483
Of dyeing, printing, &c at that place, as at any other further removed, most
for ever remain problematical. The price he paid for it was that which the
phfgleiatiB of India give for a drag to which they attach an undue merit, and
on the sale of which they realize a huge profit from their credulous and
ignorant patients. A respectable authority tells me that he has paid for this
staff at Benares one rupee for one rupee weight, and at more remote places
from Nepal It is sold at a rate still more exorbitant The average prioe of
white 9 SaldjU in Katmandu ranges from 10 annas to one rupee a dhcrnM
of three cacha seer, or from 1 1 to 15 rupees per pakka maund of 40 seers,
and the cost of transport to the banks of the Ganges or Gandack is as fbl-
knrs:—
A hill porter will carry two maunds from hence to Hitounda for two rupees
one anna, and a bullock will carry from thence to Patna four maunds at a
charge of two rupees seven annas, or from the same place to Qovindganj
(on the Gandak, 10 miles south of Bettiah) for one rupee 14 annas. Thus
the mineral can be stored at Patna at an average cost of from 14 8 to 18 8
rupees per maund, and at Qovindganj for 15 annas per maund less, L e.
for IS 9 to 17 9 rupees. This calculation except the carriage from Hitounda
is made in Nepalese rupees, the difference between which and sicca rupees is
a* 198 of the former to 100 of the latter, and there is no additional expense
except an export duty of 2£ per cent, ad valorem, levied by the Nepal govern.
ment, unless there be (unknown to me) an import duty levied in our pro.
vinces, on minerals the product of this state.
The quantity now annually exported from Katmandu, as far as I can as-
certain, is not more than 15 or 20 maunds, but I believe that there would
he no difficulty in procuring any quantity required of it, and that without any
addition to the present cost ; for as it is found without the previous expense
ef digging mines, and transported without the necessity of making roads,
an increased demand would only have the effect of inducing a greater num-
ber of the hill people to collect the stuff in the hills of their neighbourhood,
and convey it to the capital ; or perhaps with a steady demand the produce
of the lower hills would be carried direct to the plains by the collectors of it,
and the profit of the first buyer or Katmandu merchants by this means saved
to the consumers in the plains. SaldjU in Nepal as well as in India is at
present confined exclusively to use in medicine and surgery, and in both
countries it enjoys a very high reputation, and is used in both as a remedy
in the same diseases.
In India it is in much greater repute than in the land 6f its pro.
dnction, as its price there shews; and its virtues in some affections are
* There is a dark bituminous substance nsed in Nepal, said to be exuded from rocia )
it is called " Black Salajit." I am ignorant of its nature ; it resembles in external cha-
racter the bituminous alum ore (called shale) which is said to be found in Sweden and
in many coal mines in England, bat there is much vegetable matter Id H, and it
b probably a vegetable production, notwithstanding the belief by the Nepal physicians
of its mineral nature.
2 Q 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
484 On the Native Alum or Saldjtl of Nepaf. p5*rfc
said to be unequalled. Internally it is given as a sovereign remedy
in parntio (gonorrhoea), in gleet, gravel, stone in the bladder, semi.
nal weakness, and sometimes in alvine fluxes ; its dose is (to an adult)
10 grains finely powdered and given in ghee : it also composes an in-
gredient in several of the compound medicines administered by the na-
tive physicians, and is said (possibly with justice) to be an admirable re-
medy in gravel as well as in diarrhoea. Externally it is chiefly employed
in powder as a styptic in recent wounds, and, in solution, to bruises and
sprains, as well as a wash for foul ulcers. In severe cases of falls and brais-
es it is internally administered, apparently without any better reason than
the one stated by themselves, viz. that its being good for a bruised leg
" ought to make it useful to the internals of a hurt man." It is much
prized by old women as a remedy in infantile diseases, such as slight fever,
diarrhoea and bronchitis — and few faqirs who dispense health to the bo-
dy are without this mineral. It is exported, from Nepal in small quantities
to almost every part of India, as few traders, from the horse merchant of
the Panjdb to the Baipari of Tirhoot, leave this without some of the
drug, and the faqirs, who flock here annually in incredible numbers, distribute
their small stores to their brethren of the craft at every pilgrimage from
Jagarndth to Mdmurwar, and from Rdmtswar to Dwarika, This mineral
is not confined to Nepal; it is a produce of some part of Behar*, and is said
to be found in small quantity in different parts of the Vindhya range of
hills; although according to the testimony of the Katmandu merchants
" of inferior value in medicine to that of Nepal" Its use in the arte of
calico printing, dyeing, &c does not seem to have been contemplated even
in India, where those arts have been so long practised ; and although print.
ing is done after a rude fashion throughout the valley of Nepal, and the
mineral is a native of its surrounding hills, I cannot learn that it is ever used
in the making of mordants, for which purpose the sulphate of alumina is
above all other salts the best adapted, and for which it is in such large de-
mand throughout Europe. It remains therefore for European intelligence
to introduce this mineral into general use, and when it is considered that all
the alum used in Europe for dyeing, printing, whitening paper, tannmy and
dressing leather, &c &c. is manufactured by a tedious and expensive pro-
cess, it will seem strange that a nearly pure native sulphate of alumina
should be so abundant within a few days' journey of the river Ganges, and
not have long ago, attracted the attention of the mercantile community of
India, or the numberless dyers, printers, and tanners carrying on their
separate vocations throughout the Gangetic valley. To assist Mr. Steven-
son or any other person in procuring this substance, I offer such aid as be-
ing on the spot will enable me to give.
* Dr. Hamilton in his account of Nepal rays, " 1 have collected Salajit in Behar wita
my own hands."
Digiti
zed by G00gle
IMS*} Defense •/ Lt. Burt's TrUection Instrument. -48§
V. — Defence of Lt. Burfs Trisection Instrument.
To the Editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society.
Si*,
The accompanying observations regarding the correctness of Mr. Bust's instru-
ment for trisecting angles, described in No. 11, suggested themselves to roe, in
consequence of my attention having been drawn to it by some remarks contained
in a note at page 159 of No. 15, and I take the liberty of sending them to you, in
the hope, that should you think them likely to be of interest to any of your
readers, you will give them a place in the Journal of the Asiatic Society. As it is
not improbable, however, that ere this letter reach you the subject may have been
taken up by a more able correspondent, or that its object may have been anticipat-
ed by Mr. Burt bimself having forwarded a reply in defence of bis invention, I
hope that in either of these cases you will have no hesitation whatever in laying
this communication aside.
In the note above alluded to, it is objected to Mr. Burt's demonstration
of the correctness of his instrument, that the rad. b is not proved equal
to rad. a 0, and that it is in consequence imperfect. In the way however in
which I understood the description, it appeared to me that the length of o b was
constant, the leg a d being confined to a fixed point of it by a groove; and although not
so expressed, 1 imagine it must have been intended that, that point should be at an
equal distance from the centre with the point a. Should this supposition be cor-
rect, the demonstration would, I imagine, be complete, without the necessity of
proving that the locus of the point b is the circumference of the circle ; but that
such is the case whenever the angle is trisected, would be easily demonstrated as
follows :— Let BAF {fig. 1) beany angle whereof BF is the chord, and let AC be
the line trisecting the angle BAF and crossing the chord BF in D. It is required
to prove that if from the point B with the radius BD an arc be described cutting
AC in C (whence BC=BD) then, that the point C shall be situated in the cir-
cumference of the circle whose centre is at A and radius=AB, or that AC will equal
AB.
First L BDA = £ DAF + /. AFD {El. I. 32)
= ZL DAF + L ABD (Hyp:) (No. 1.)
Again L BDA= /. DBC + L BCD
= L DBC + /. BDC
= L DBC + L DAB + L ABD
Equating these two values of L BDA, we have
Z.DAF+Z. ABD = Z DBC+Z DAB + L ABD
Taking ^ ABD from each side, ^ DAF = Z DBC + L DAB
But Z DAB = § ^ DAF (by hyp.) therefore ^ DBC also = ft £ DAF
Whence also ^ DAB = ^ DBC
But the angle ADF or its eqnal ^ BDC, or ^ BCA
==Z DAB + ^ ABD or
= ZDBC+ Z ABD or
= ZABC
Whence AB = AC.
With regard to the latter part of Mr. B.'s paper, concerning the removal of the
fourth leg of the instrument, I am not quite sure that I fully comprehend the
mode in which the construction of the scale is detailed. If, however, the follow-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
4S8 Defence o/Lt. Burt 9 * Tri&cilon Instrument. [Sft*f.
tng be a correct explanation of the meaning, there can, I imagine, be no hesitation
in admitting the conclusion he has drawn. In forming the scale of equal parte
upon this fourth leg AB {fig. 2) each point in the scale is to be successively brought
to the circumference by turning the scale round the point A, so as that each divi-
sion shall in tnrn terminate a chord of the variable arc AG, and die Hue wartimg
the division is then to be cut on it, in the direction of the radius passing through
it. At the same time the leg AD being placed in its corresponding position (viz.
at an equal distance on the other side of a perpendicular to C6), its divisions
will be marked by the 9ame radius, and this is to be done for every point of the
circumference AG^B*.
The divisions upon AD, therefore, form a scale of chords equal in length to
those of the corresponding arcs AG, kg, and each of the lines forming them, will
by the construction tend to the centre when AD is so situated as to cut off an arc
three times the extent of that of wbich AG is the chord ; and the application of the
instrument merely consists in adjusting the line AD to the chord of the given arc,
and then turning round the movable radius CG till it coincide with the diviaioa,
wbich in that position would if produced pass through the centre, and which, if
the coincidence be exact, will of course direct the radius to an arc one-third of
AD. It must however be shown that in any position of AD there can be oulg om
of the divisions which tends to the centre (or can be made to coincide with the
radius), this may be easily proved ; for if PL (fig. 2) be the correct division on the
scale, cutting off (by radius passing through it) the arc AG = one-third of the arc
AD, and if// be any other division belonging to an arc A g the whole of the divisions
having been marked off in the manner above described, then it may be demonstrated
that the radius Cf will, if drawn through/, form with// an angle Ifn equal to the angle
/C F plus half the angle ^C F*. The instrument therefore seems to be complete enough
in theory without the fourth leg, but in use, it appears to me that the want of it
would considerably diminish its accuracy, as it must be very difficult to bit upon the
exact coincidence when the divisions are very numerous, and as any error at the point
F would be multiplied at G in the proportion of the two distances CF : CG, this
would be a serious evil in large angles, as the focus of the point F is a curve which
* The demonstration of this is as follows, vide fig. 2.
First/. CGA = L GCM + L CMG
= L GCM -|- L Cgk — L g*M
= L GCM + Z.C^A-§Z. GCM (BU m. 20.)
s=LCg\ + ZiGCM
Therefore substituting these values in above equation
L AFL = L V* + i L GCM (No. L)
Again L QfD or Kfn = L C*/+ L /CF
Or L AF/ + L nfl = L AFL + £/CF
Or, by substituting the value of Z. AFL found at (No I.)
= L kfl + //CF + *^ GCM
And subtracting Z. Sfl from each side ot the equation
Za^/=Z/CF + *Z ©CM
O.BJ).
Digitized by
Google
1 833.} Defence of Li. Burt' a Truectiou Instrument. 487 .
gradually approaches, and ultimately (when the angle triaected equals 180°) pes*ea
through the centre.
Mr. B. says that the fourth leg is absolutely necessary to the first construction
of the instrument, but it has occurred to me that by forming the scale upon AD.
in s different manner it might be dispensed with altogether. For since AG is always
equal to AF, and consequently the angles AFG and AGF also equal, it follows
that if the arm AB be turned round till AG coincides with AF, that the point G will,
also coincide with the point F, and the line FL would form an angle with AG j as
for instance the angle AGji equal to the angle AFL or AGF. The instrument
would there/ore I think be equally correct if the divisions upon AB were first
drawn in the way that Mr. B proposes, as above described, and, if this leg when
complete were afterwards converted into the chord AD by reversing the inclinations,
of all the lines Gq t making them form equal angles on the opposite side of a per*
pendicular to AB, for then Z/>GA would be equal ^BGe=Z FGA=£ AFG.
Af I before observed, the locus of the point F (fig. 2) is a curve passing through
the centre C. A representation of this is given in fig. 3, which also shows it conti-
nued, and passing through the extremity of a diameter at right angles to GC, which
it again meet* at M, GM being equal toGL, the diameter of the circle GDL. From
the circumstances of the distance DK being always equal to 2 vers-sin. Z DCG
(which may be easily deduced from Mr. Bunr's theorem) may be derived an equa*
lion to the curve when the co-ordinates originate at the centre (r being =GC)
r* r*
y»= 2r*— ** + r V 2rx+ •.
2 4
As it is also easily described geometrically, it affords a very simple form for tbe
coastructioo of an instrument for trisecting any angle from to 180° , and consist-
ing of s tingle piece only. A representation of one which I have lately made up,
and found to answer my expectations fully, is given in fig. 4. It consists simply
of in ivory scale, whose edge is sloped off, and accurately formed to the figure of
the curve GKC {fig. 3), and a small part of the diameter GL produced on each
tide to ensure its accurate adjustment to one of the sides containing the given
ingle, for which purpose also small portions of the edge at C and G are cut away,
in order that the coincidence of these two points with the centre and point G of
the chord of the given angle may be accurately determined. As no graduation
whaterer is necessary the instrument is very easily made, and the application of it,
which is also extremely simple, will be understood from the following example :
I matt first mention, however, that for more convenient measurement the exact
length of the radius GC is laid off on the centre of the scale between the points
MandN.
Let GCD (fig. 4) be any angle to be trisected.
From the point C with the distance CG or MN as a radius, describe sn src GLD.
Draw the chord GD, then apply the scale so as to mske its edge coincide with the
side CG of the given angle, and the point C with the centre of tbe circle
* From this equation maybe derived the other properties of the carve just
tiooed. For instance if x be taken eqaal to o, then y becomes = 9 or r =z CH. If a* =?
r, then y also becomes =: o or r ^3 = GF ; and lastly, if a* betaken equal to 3 r # then **
becomes = o or an imaginary quantity. The carve will therefore pass through the points
GAHandM.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
483 Computation of the Area of Indian States. f Skft.
GLD, and of coarse since the radios is by construction equal to GC, tbe point G
will coincide with the point G (of the chord). Make a mark at the intersection
of the curve GKC with the chord GD, and a line drawn from the centre through
that point (K) will trisect the given angle. As the curve GKC is the locus of the
point D in fig. 1, when DB is equal to BC and AB=AC, which corresponds with
the conditions of Mr. Burt's demonstration, it is unnecessary for me to trouble you
with any proof of the correctness of the instrument in addition to that already
given by him. By extending the principle and making use of different curvesf and
with some necessary modifications, an instrument might be constructed, in mrimfle
piece, to divide any given angle in any given ratio (within moderate limits), but as
I have no hopes that any contrivance for this purpose, however simple in applica-
tion, or comprehensive in its powers, will ever supersede the good old method by
trials with the compasses, I shall not further trespass on your patience by indulg-
ing in any useless speculations on the subject.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
MaeuUpatam, <?• S.
3rd July, 1833.
P. S. I imagine Mr. Burt's parallel lines passing through the same point are
intended to be referred to different places, being coincident, and passing through tbe
centre when referred to the plane of the instrument, but parallel when referred to
one perpendicular to it.
VI. — Computation of the Area of the Kingdoms and Principalities of
"~" India.
Captain J. Sutherland, late Private Secretary to the Vice-President, having been
recently engaged in the preparation of a note on the political relations of the
British Government in India, adopted a mode, on the recommendation of the
Surveyor General, of obtaining in a rough way the area, or contents in square
miles, of each state, without the labour of elaborate calculation, to which the im-
perfect data of our maps of the country could not ensure very great accuracy.
The boundaries of each state having been marked off on a skeleton map drawn
on paper, of equable texture, as accurately as this could be done from information
procurable in the Surveyor General's Office and the Political Department, the whole
were cut out with the greatest care, and weighed individually, and collectively as a
check, in the most delicate balance of the Calcutta Assay Office. The weights were
noted to the thousandth part of a grain, the balance being sensible to the team
part of that minute quantity. Fifteen precisely equal squares of paper (unfortunately
* If the whole carve be used and the chord produced each way, it will intersect it ia
three points (as shown at KKWfig. 3), giving as many positions of the line CK, aad as
many solutions of the problem. In this case the intersection with the interior loop, as at
K, marks the third of the given angle, while those with the exterior branches of the
curve trisect its complement (or if larger, its excess beyond 90°) and supplement.
f The locos of the point of bisection for instance would be a semicircle on the ma-
meter GC.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Jour A* S&c.
vHn.nxv
ayf
vfe
Kn<])u«a<7C
M 9
+Ji
J fcT.j«inH(h
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Area of Indian States. 489
not the same as that used for the map) were previously weighed to ascertain the
extent of Tariation to which such a mode of measurement would be liable : the re-
salts were not very favorable, neither was the paper of such equal texture as might
be fairly compared with that used for the map : the weights were as follows— (to
the nearest hundredth of a grain,) apparently increasing towards the edges of the
sheet.
1 = 2.65 grains, 6 = 2.95 grains, 11 = 3.05 grains.
2 = 2.65 7 =z 2.90 12 = 2.75
3 = 2.65 8 = 2.90 13 = 2.65
4 =r 2.68 9 = 2.80 14 = 2.65
5 = 2.80 10 = 3.10 15 = 275
Before setting to work on the states, an index or unit of 100 square degrees, cut
from the same paper, was first weighed to serve as a divisor for the rest.
The weighing process commenced in the driest part of the day, taking the whole
of the papers together; thus the continent of India weighed 127.667 grains troy.
The sum of the individual weights of the separate states was 127.773. The addition
was proved to proceed from the hygrometric water absorbed towards the evening ;
thus weighed, the British states weighed at first 74.366, at the conclusion 74.445 ; the
native powers, at first 53.301 ; the sum of them weighed individually was 53.407 ;
afterwards, weighed in groups 53,456, being later in the evening. In drawing out the
table for calculation, proper corrections were applied to neutralize this source of
error, but coupled with the previous examination of the texture of paper, it is
sufficient to shew that the following table must be looked upon only as a rough
approximation in the absence of better information. The superficial area of Hin-
dustan, exclusive of the independent states of Nipal, Lahore, &c. according to
Hamilton, between the latitudes of 8° and 35° north, and the longitude of 68° and
92' east, cannot be estimated at more than 1,280,000 English square miles : and
the portion belonging to the British and their allies, at 1,103,000 : this estimate
agrees very well with the present statement.
Square mile*.
The area of the native states in alliance with the British Govern-
ment was found to be 449,845
That of the territory under British rule with the remaining small
states and jagirdars, 626,746
Superficial area of all India, 1,076,591
The extent of coast from Cape Negrais to the frontiers of Sinde is 3622 British
miles, the breadth from Surat to Silhet, 1260 miles.
Captain Sutherland classifies the native states of India under the three fol-
lowing heads :
I. — Foreign, viz. Persia, Kabul, Senna, the Arab tribes, Siam, Acheen.
II. — External, on the frontier; viz. Ava, Nepal, Lahore, Sinde.
III. — Internal, which are those included in the present list. All of these have
relinquished political relations with one another and with all other states. They
are, according to the nature of their relations or treaties with the English, divided
into six classes :
First Class. Treaties offensive and defensive : right on their part to claim
protection, external and internal, from the British Government: right on its part
to interfere m their internal affairs.
2 R
Digiti
zed by G00gle
490
Computation of the Area of Indian States.
[Sbpt.
1. Oude, containing, by weigbment,. . . . 23,923 by Hamilton*, 20,090
2. Mysore, 27,999 27,000
3. Berar or Nagpur, 56,723 70,000
4. Travancore, 4,574 6,000
5. Cochin, 1,988 2,0W
Second Class. Treaties offensive and defensive: right on tkeir pert tocUm
protection, external and internal, from the British Government, and to the aide/ Us
troops to realize their just claims from their own subjects t no right an its peri ts
interfere in their internal affairs.
Square wOtm. Square mflsv
6. Hyderabad, containing, by weigbment, 88,884 by Hamilton, 96,000
7. Baroda, 24,950 12,000
Third Class. Treaties offensive and defensive, states mostly tributary, s*-
hnowledgmg the supremacy of, and promising subordinate co-operation to, the British
Government t but supreme rulers in their own domains.
8. Indore, containing,
Rajputina States. Square miles.
9. Oudipur,(H. 7,300,) 11,784 16.
10. Jcypur, 13,427 17.
11. Joudptir, 34,132 18.
12. Kotab, (H. 6,500,) 4,389 19.
13. Bundi, (H. 2,500,) 2,291 20.
14. Alwar, 3,235 21.
15. Bikhanir, 18,060 22.
4,245 square miles.
Square mflea.
JesaJmir, 9,779
Kiabengurb, .... 724
Banswara, 1,440
Pertabgurh, .... 1,457
Dungarpur, .... 2,005
Keroli, 1,878
Serowi, 3,024
Square miks.
23. Bhurtpur, (by Hamilton, 5,000,) 1,94$
24. Bbopal, (ditto 5,000,) 6,772
25. Kutcb, (H. with the Runn 13,300.) 7,396
26. Dhar and Dewas, 1,466
27. Dh61pur, 1,626
28. Rewab, 10,310
f Dbattea, 1
29. < Jhansf, \ 16,173
ITerhf, J
30. Sawantwari, 935
Fourth Class. Guarantee and protection, subordinate co-operation, but
premacy in their own territory.
fTonk, 1,1031
31. Ameer Khan, 1 Seron], .. .. 261 V .... 1,633 square i
[Nunbahara, 269 J
32 J Patiala, Key
Boghelhhand,
and
Bundelthand,
n
16,602
' \ Naba and Jeend, /
Fifth Class. Amity and friendship.
33. Gwalior, containing, 32,944 square miles.
Sixth Class. Protection, with right on the part of the British G over nment to
control internal affairs.
34. Sattara, containing, 7,943 square miles.
35. Kolapur, 3,184
• This column, and other items marked H., extracted from Haaui.Tox's Hindustan by way of
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Miscellaneous. 491
Of the above states, four are Mohammedan ; Fix. Hyderabad, Oude, Bhopal, and
Tonk. Of the Hindu states, eight are Marhatta ; viz. Sattara, Qwalior, Nagpur,
Indore, Banda, Kolapur, Dhar, and Dewas.
Nineteen are Rajput ; via. Oudf pur, Jeypur, Joudpur, Bundf, Kotah, Kutcb,
Alwar, Bhikanf r, Jesalmir, Kishengarh, Banswara, Pertabgarh, Dungerpur, Keroli,
Serowf, Rewah, Dhattea, Jhansf, Terhf.
Six are of other Hindu tribes ; viz. Mysore, Bhartpur, Travancore, Sawantwarf ,
Cochin, and Dholpur.
Besides these allied states, there are the following inferior Rajships and Jagfr*
darts: viz. Chota Nagp<jr, Sirg&jer, Sambhalpar, Singbbhum, Oudfpur, Ma-
nipur, Tanjore, the Bareich family, Ferozpur, Merich,Tansgaoo, Nepani, Akulkote,
and those of the Sigar and Nerbudda country ; also Sikkim and the states of the
northern hills.
V II. — Miscellaneous.
1. — Importation of Ice from Boston.
The arrival of the Tuscany, with a cargo of ice from America, forms an epoch
in the history of Calcutta worthy of commemoration, as a facetious friend remark-
ed, in a medal of frosted silver. In the mouth of May last, we received a present
of some ice from Dr. Wise at Hugli, (whose efforts have so long been directed
to the extension of its manufacture by the native process*,) as a proof that the
precious luxury might be preserved by careful husbandry until the season when its
coolness was most grateful : — little did we then contemplate being able to return the
compliment with a solid lump of the clearest crystal ice, at the conclusion of the
rains ! nor that we should be finally indebted to American enterprise for the realiza-
tion of a pleasure for which we have so long envied our more fortunate country-men
in the upper provinces ; nay even the beggars of Bokhara, who, in a climate at times
more sultry than ours, according to Lieut. Bubnes, " purchase ice for their
water even while entreating the bounty of the passenger f!" Professor Lbslie,
with his thousand glass exhausters, and his beautiful steam air-pumps, tanta-
lized us with the hopes of a costly treat, and ruined poor Tatloe the bold adopter of
his theory :— but science must in this new instance, as on so many former occasions,
confess herself vanquished or forestalled by the simple practical discovery that a
body of ice may be easily conveyed from one side of the globe to the other, cross,,
ing the line twice, with a very moderate loss from liquefaction.
We are indebted to Mr. J. J. Di*well, the agent for the proprietors, for the
following interesting particulars relative to theTuscany's novel cargo, and the mode
of shipping ice from America for foreign consumption.
The supplying of ice to the West Indies and to the Southern States of the Union,
New Orleans, &c. has become within these few years, an extensive branch of trade,
under the successful exertions of its originator Fbedbbic Tudoe, Esq. of Boston,
with whom S. Austin, Esq. and Mr. W. C. Rogebs are associated in the present
speculation.
* See page 80 of the present volume, and former notices in the Gleanings,
«J- Journal, vol. ii. p. 939.
2b2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
492 Miscellaneous. [Sirr,
The ponds from which the Boston ice is cut are situated within ten miles of the
city. It is also procured from the Kennebec and Penobscot risers in the State of
Maine, where it is deposited in ice houses upon the banks, and shipped from thence
to the Capital. A peculiar machine is used to cut it from the ponds in blocks of
two feet square, and from one foot to eighteen inches thick, varying according to
the intensity of the season. If the winter does not prove severe enough to fame
the water to a convenient thickness, the square slabs are laid again over the sheet
ice, until consolidated, and so recti t. The ice is stored in ware-houses construct-
ed for the purpose at Boston.
In shipping it to the West Indies, a voyage of 10 or 15 days, little precaution is
used. The whole hold of the vessel is filled with it, having a lining of tan about
four inches thick upon the bottom and sides of the bold, and the top lifts covered
with a layer of hay. The hatches are then closed, and are not allowed to be opened
till the ice is ready to be discharged. It is usually measured for shipping, and each
eord reckoned at three tons : a cubic foot weighs 58§lbs.
For the voyage to India, a much longer one than had been hitherto attempted'
some additional precautions were deemed necessary for the preservation of the ice.
The ice-hold was an insulated house extending from the after part of the forward
hatch to the forward part of the after hatch, about 50 feet in length. It was con-
structed as follows :
A floor of one-inch deal planks was first laid down upon the dunnage at
the bottom of the vessel : over this was strewed a layer one foot thick of tan,
that is, the refuse bark from the tanners' pits, thoroughly dried, which is found to
be a very good and cheap non-conductor; over this was laid another deal planking,
and the four sides of the ice-hold were built up in exactly the same manner, insul-
ated from the sides of the vessel. The pump, well, and main mast were boxed
round in the same manner.
The cubes of ice were then packed or built together so close as to leave no space
between them, and to make the whole one solid mass : about 180 tons were thus
stowed. On the top was pressed down closely a foot of hay, and the whole was
shut up from access of air, with a deal planking one inch thick, nailed upon the
jower surface of the lower deck timbers ; the space between the planks and the deck
being stuffed with tan.
On the surface of the ice, at two places, was introduced a kind of float, having
a guage rod passing through a stuffing box in the cover, the object of which was
to note the gradual decrease of the ice as it melted and subsided bodily.
The ice was shipped on the 6th and 7th of May, 1833, and discharged in Calcutta,
on the 13th, 14tb, 15th, and 16th September, making the voyage in four months and
seven days.
The amount of wastage could not be exactly ascertained from the sinking of the
gnages, because on opening the chamber it was found that the ice had melted between
each block, and not from the exterior only in the manner of one solid mass as was
anticipated. Calculating from the rods and from the diminished draught of the
ship, Mr. Dixwkll estimated the loss on arriral at Diamond Harbour to be fifty-five
tons. Six or eight tons more were lost during the passage up the river, and probably
twenty in landing. About one hundred tons, say three thousand maunds, were
finally deposited in the ice house on shore, a lower room in a house at Brightman's
ghaut, rapidly floored and lined with planks for the occasion.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Miscellaneous.
493
The sale has not, we believe, been so rapid as might have been expected, amount-
ing to no more than ten maunds per diem, although Mr. Rogers has fixed the price
at the low rate of 4 annas per seer, one half the price estimated for the Hugli ice,
which was still calculated to be somewhat cheaper in proportion than saltpetre.
The public requires to be habituated to it, and to be satisfied of the economy of
its substitution for the long established process of cooling. There may also be
some doubts of the best mode of preserving so fleeting a commodity, but on this
head we cannot but advise an imitation of the methods pursued on a large scale on
board of the Tuscany. For the application of the ice to the purposes of cooling
ample directions have been given in the Gleanings of Science, vol. iii. p. 120. A
box, or basket, or tin case, with several folds of blankets, or having a double case
lined with paddy chaff or any non-conducting substance, will preserve the ice until
wanted, and for cooling water or wine the most effectual method of all is to put a
lamp of the clear crystal into the liquid : the next best is to spread fragments upon
the bottles laid horizontally, and leave them wrapped in flannel for a couple of hours.
So effectual was the non-conducting power of the ice-house on board, that a
thermometer placed on it did not differ perceptibly from one in the cabin. From the
temperature of the water pumped out, and that of the air in the run of the vessel,
Mr. Dixwell ascertained that the temperature of the hold was not sensibly affected
by the ice. Upon leaving the tropic and running rapidly into the higher latitudes,
it retained its heat for some time, but after being several weeks in high latitudes,
and becoming cooled to the temperature of the external air and sea, it took more
than ten days in the tropics before the hold was heated again to the tropical standard.
Mr. Dixwell has favored us with a sight of the daily register kept by him-
self on board, which we regret we have not space to insert at length :— The follow-
ing extracts however will serve to impart spine of the useful information gleaned
in this first experimental passage from Boston : we sincerely hope and believe that
it will afford ample encouragement for a repetition of the speculation, and eventu-
ally for a regular annual consignment of this new staple produce of the northern
continents ! a scheme is now in circulation for supplying ice all the year round at
2 annas per seer.
Extract* from the Log qf the Ship Tutcany."
Date.
1833.
Latitude
at noon.
Longitude
at noon.
Temp, of
Temp, of
water.
Fall of
Ice-guage.
Wind.
Remark*.
• '
o «
e
e
inches.
May 13
41 30N
66 44 W.
61
—
S. W.
moderate.
16
39 26
04 51
64
70
N. W.
fresh.
90
34 94
43 00
70
68
W.
ditto.
84
97 48
33 44
71
73
N. E.
/ av. temp, in N. tern*
1 peratesone.
air 68.3— water 79A
SB
90 48
30 99
78
76
E.
Jan* l
13 05
95 33
80
79
4
N.E.
light air*.
6
7 29
19 51
86
85
N.E.
ditto.
10
09
18 05
84
83
7.1
S.E.
/ average temp, of N.
\ tropic. A. 89°
10
4 04 S
99 91
89
80
S.E.
W. 81°.5.
[Having occasion to O]
therm, which jtood at
30 I 93 99
[Jury 2, bored with an
from the top. Cargo
July 4 1 99 38
ien the run scuttle, found the air pouring up from the hold quite warm : a
80° in the cabin, rose to 84° in the run.]
| « » | n | 73 | M I E- {"jK'&.W 6 *-
auger into the ice house, under the main hatch, and came to ice at 10 inches
as usual dry.]
1 19 38 1 79 | 70 10 | W. | fresh winds.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
494
Miscellaneous.
[SilT.
[Instead of the usual 10 minutes pumping, required an hour to free the ship from water owjngto
cranctaess, and having been 20 daya on one tack. She baa been pumped out generally 4 or 5 una,
or about 170 strokes per diem.]
16 138 63S.I 12 27E I 51° 1 68» I guage. I 8.W. I [ament
18 |» S3 I 83 10 I 68 | 70 I lTS I N.W. [ in the warn Cast
[Since leaving the trades, the water pumped from the hold has been 8° to 5° warmer than the sea.]
30
39 33
63 00
61
60
1&8
W.N.W
Attgt. 6
88 36
83 01
68
65
lt3
S.
17
6 18
85 46
86
86
84.0
calm.
19
4 36
85 88
89
86
24.0
do.
21
2 34
85 14
89
86
25.0
do.
83
69
84 57
89
86
25.0
do.
89
11 83 N.
85 34
88
84
26^
S. W.
Sept. 1
80 14
87 08
86
86
S. W.
3
Diamond
Harbour.
88
88
& W.
ditto.
incaUn 83*m neoTfi
83 fl
84 e
83 H
fresh,
ditto,
light.
Average temperature of S. Tropic Indian Ocean, Air 81 9 .33 Sea, 81°.39
85.35
,74.17
N. Tropic to Diamond Hr. 86.4
Average temperature of the whole voyage, Air 73.89
Do of former voyages—
6 June to 18 Sept. 1827 71*71
16 June to 6 Oct 1828 71.88
15 June to 18 Oct 1829 70.16
2 Aug. to 18 Dec. 1830 71.62
22 Aug. to 16 Jan. 1831-2 74^7
2.— On the Actum qf various Lights upon the Retina. By Sir D. Brewster.
When the eyes are exposed to strong lights, objects cannot be seen of their trw
colours, and even lights of ordinary intensity produce a decided deterioration in
the tints of a fine picture. Hence it is that we see paintings to most advantage when
we view them through two blackened tubes held close to the eye. By this mesas
the colours are not only more brilliant, but faint lights are brought out waka
would otherwise have been overpowered by the action of lateral light upon the
retina. If we turn a picture upside down, and look at it with the head inverted,
a similar effect is produced, because the image is received upon a part of the retina
which is not so frequently used ; and it is for the same reason that the colours of
the sky and of the landscape near the horizon are so beautifully seen by looking at
them either between the legs, or beneath the arm with the head inverted.
It is well known that the human complexion is seen to greater advantage in
candle, than in day-light, unless the complexions are very ruddy. This arises frost
there being so much more red in candle, than in day-light. There are certain states
indeed, of the atmosphere, when dark-blue clouds prevail, in which the ordinary
complexion appears to great disadvantage ; and persons in variable health are often
described as looking ill, when the change arises from the prevailing colour of the
clouds.
When gas-lights' were first introduced, it was a common complaint among those
who frequented the theatre that they injured the personal appearance of the audi-
ence. This bad quality made them so unpopular, that a red colour was commu-
nicated to the light by inclosing it in a reddish coloured glass. The effect, however,
arose from the great quantity of light which was used, and from its influence upon
the retina ; and if the same intensity of light had been obtained either from oil or
from candles, the same effect would have been produced. Our eyes are now so
much accustomed to the use of strong lights that the retina is not so easily r end ere d
insensible to the red rays, and the blue colour of the light is no longer complained
of. It is, however, still observed, by those who have been for the first time exposed
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 495
to gas illumination, and the eyes of such person* must therefore serve an appren-
ticeship before they learn to see objects in their true colours.
The blue colour of gas-light was ascribed to the badness of the gas ; and the
apparent removal of this injurious quality has been attributed to its increased purity
and to improved methods of burning it: but the truth is, that bad gas, or an
imperfect combustion of good gas, produces a much redder light than good gas
burnt in the best manner. The smoke which is produced in the former cases
invariably reddens the flame, and its perfect removal causes the gas to approximate
to the light of the sun, which is always bluer than that of the whitest flames from
wax, oil, or tallow.
There is a very pretty experiment illustrative of some of the preceding observa-
tions, which is easily made. Place two candles at the distance of two or three feet
from the eye, and about one foot from each other, and having closed one eye, fix the
other intently upon either of the candles, as if it were examining with attention
some point of the wick. The other candle will be seen by indirect vision, and after
a little time, it becomes much brighter and bluer than the first, in consequence of
the part of the retina on which its light falls being more susceptible than the more
frequently used portion in the axis of the eye, upon which the light of the second
is incident. The higher degree of excitation of the retina, produced by the candle
seen indirectly, renders that portion of the membrane less sensible to the red rays ;
and if the excitation is continued, the image will become actually blue, and will be
surrounded with a halo of yellow nebulous light The blue image, indeed, will
sometimes disappear, and leave nothing in its place but a nebulous hole. — PkiL
Meg. March* 1833.
3.— Substance* contained in Opium
M. Pellktier in an elaborate memoir on opium printed in Iht Annate* de Chimie,
mentions the following principles as contained in opium ; viz. narcotine, mor-
phia, meconic acid, meconine, narceine, caoutchouc, gum, bassorine, lignine, resin,
brown acid, and extractive matter, fixed oil, and a volatile, but non-oleaginous prin •
ciple, which rises in distillation with water.
Added to these substances, M. Bete a announces (Journal de Pharmacie, April,
1832), another peculiar principle ; it is bitter, crystallizable, forms salt with acids,
especially with acetic acid, with which it gives crystals in the form of very white
scales, and with sulphuric acid, white silky crystals ; no name is given to this sub-
stance by its discoverer.
M. Robiquet, it also appears, has separated a new alkali from opium, which he
calls paverin. Only a few details of its properties are yet given (Journal de Pharm.
Nov. 1832). It differs very remarkably from other vegeto-alkalies in being soluble
in water ; saturates acids, is insoluble in potash, and contains much azote ; it
is very poisonous, and acts very particularly on the spinal marrow.— PAtf. Mag.
4.— Death qf Captain J. D. Herbert.
It is with feelings of sincere grief that we record the loss of our most worthy
friend and late coadjutor, Captain J. D. Herbert, at Lukhnow on the 24th instant
He had been for some time suffering under the effects of the climate : a sudden
determination of blood to the head was the immediate cause of the fatal event
Digiti
zed by G00gle
496
Meteorological Register.
[Sept. 1833.
73
JO
i
■5 a
&
-*
•SUH10A3
•Saraiopj
•3UIU3A3
•Sura jo k
•tatptxi
.4 S
it si ii
s w £
*^4
°M S a a-3 o^ooSoooooo Bails S-*-e'3 §■§- »
= *£
If I
i° la
fi-S'SCtsiS-o-e-e-d-a-dSeJ-ats-o-esS-a^^'l
CO ■ mm j j j j
3 §
■6 -
II
■5
U
J . . Oi • . <V C 4*
a d j * ™ i « « ^ * ™ *^^'' " * c 6 6 c*u ; i:i£ . . .
WW «S» / - " c c
O 9J
o- ©*~©© ©
■9S8>
©<ooo~
i.mhv aasasssasasasssssssasssfesssasas a a
?!
k-vohv
wMtonv
a88&aasas8ssgsg3asas38S8sssgse
ft' -V^ TV 5X5, 05 ^.4^.<rV©MH *T oJ» ■* ©T (NO* M oT« ©I « Pi — o» =* — ~ ■ ■
IT
©. £*
K'JOUV 3
CO'l'COIffi-IM 00O4O«r>.CD OWONW^^doMCORa*-©
^SSSS^33S3^33S3S^SSSSSsa3S^ S3 1 J
'1311 1 *SJM C*»oo©«oe^rt^ i eo©©c»30o*^oo©ccPSis i »(N.©«o*cioooK50*r* «« £
xq -»k gaa"ssSs5ssSaSaSa"3"s"sa"asa"Sa"ssa"gss" s x [
c -# ©» eo©»o~ w toaooi«>fl aot-.*: <j«jano oa to i& *r -r & i^t<*x$ r*- n ." 5
umuiiuiiv 8S8t«Sif€8S88StfsSSa*a5S8ftfs8*l£RitM S aj
■« --f«nv SSIIS86iiS3SS8IUiinS3nSHII
ll5 ; ?J.3|5|PJJ.&IJJJ§l5jP§III5i
•ft- vol »V
■w-v H \\
•qiuoui
3iU jdXb(i
— p« t>.g o
i££!a&SS£3888S5Siafcaa3!aasteii
-<NW^f«'5ear-.»asc-'0»M«f« , >tch>-xo;o
n5jmc5wc35'nj4?(S
sis
— st
?ll
9 CI
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JOURNAL
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 22.— October, 1833.
L— A visit to the Gold Mine at Battang Moving, and Summit of Mount
Ophhr, or " Gunong Ledang" in the Malay Peninsula. By Lieut. J. .
T. Newbold, 23rtf Regt. Mad. L. Inf. tf*
On the 20th April, I arrived at Assahan from Malacca on route to
Mount Ophir. Assahan lies about 3 1 miles £. N. £. from Malacca,
and is our most advanced outpost towards the frontier of the independ-
ent state of Muar. The stockade is situated on the summit of a knoll
partially cleared of wood and crowned by cocoanut trees ; it consists
of a defence of upright piles driven deep into the ground, and is about
sixteen yards square, with a low banquette running round ; enclosed
by this is a small unfinished caserne capable of accommodating thirty
men, constructed of A tap. The knoll terminates on the north-east and
west in a swampy sawah, and is approached by a footpath traversing
some rough ground from the south ; through the eastern part of the
tamah runs the Assahan rivulet, and beyond this is a stretch of forest
amid which lies enshrouded Ophir's gigantic foot. Assahan, owing
to the exactions and tyrannies practised by the petty Malayan chiefs
around, has been almost deserted by the native population ; who are
now, however, re-assured by the presence of our troops, slowly return-
ing to their ravaged homes.
At a quarter to one p. m. Lieut. Hawkbs and myself left Assahan,
with a posse comitatus consisting of a naique, six sepoys, and six con-
victs ; Am as Karo, the Panghulu of Sunjiedua, the Imam of Bokko*
Daniel Peteb8 the Portuguese interpreter, Nasep an Abyssinian, and
a guide named Haji, with ten Malays provided with "parangs"
to clear a path through the thick underwood and numerous ratans and
creepers with which a Malay forest abounds. After travelling along
2a
Digiti
zed by G00gle
498 Visit to the Gold Mine at Battang Moving, [Oct.
a footpath through a dense jangle for an hour or so, we crossed the
frontier into the Muar territory. The boundary mark, as pointed oat
by the Malays, is a large Bankon tree growing close to the path on
the right hand. After crossing the Schong and Gummi streams we
arrived at the latter place at a quarter-past 3, p. m .
Gummi is, or rather was, a small village situated close to the foot
of Mount Ophir : it contained about 20 houses, almost all of which hare
been forsaken by their inhabitants, owing to causes before-mentioned.
It does not appear to have ever benefited by excess of cultivation, but
probably owed its former population to the proximity of the gold
mines, which merit a brief description.
About sixty yards from the deserted hut which constituted oar
" Serai" nearer the mountain, is a house almost concealed by the
sloping ground on which it stands, inhabited by six or seven Chinese
miners, and immediately in front of it is a gold mine. This place is
called Battang Moving, The mine is nearly exhausted; it is situated
on the flat marshy ground at the foot of the slope on which the
Chinese house stands ; in length it measures about ten yards, by four
in breadth ; and six or seven feet in depth.
It is filled with muddy water, which is drained off by a simple bam-
boo hydraulic apparatus somewhat resembling the Indian PukotaL
The miners descend for the purpose of digging out the metallic earth, by
means of rude ladders formed of the notched trunks of trees ; a
Chinese, who had embraced Muhammedanism, went through the pro-
cess, which is extremely simple : having dug out a quantity of the
earth, which consists of coarse sand, greyish clay and white pebbles,
among which crystals of quartz are found, and greenish stones, he
placed it in a shallow funnel-shaped vessel of wood, and carried it to
a stream of water, conducted by two narrow channels close to the
mine.
The water falling from a height of about a foot washes away the
lighter earthy particles and clay, assisted by the rotatory motion of
the miner's hand. This done, he carefully picks out the stones and
other refuse too large for the water to carry off, whilst the gold dost,
in minute portions, sinks to the narrow bottom of the vessel, from
which it is extracted, carefully washed, and laid by to be made up into
small bags each containing one bunkal, (l£ oz. tr.)
The gold of Ophir, though small in quantity, is as fine as that of
Pahang in quality, being estimated at ninety touch. A gentleman of the
Madras Medical Establishment, to whom I showed the crystals and
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1633.] and the Summit of Mount Ophir. 499
earth, is of opinion that the latter is the debris of the granite forming
the summit ; the white masses appearing to be felspar in a decompos-
ed state : the crystals are quartz, and the small grains in the earth also
quartz. The gold found in it he supposes to be washed down from
the mountain as the rock became disintegrated.
The Chinese showed me a specimen of a stratum of clay of a green-
ish grey colour, beneath which gold is never found ; this is the case
with the present mine, which they intend quitting to open another a
few paces distant.
The Chinese affirm that one mine does not produce monthly more
than one tael of gold. This is probably designedly underrated. A
tribute is exacted from each individual of one dollar monthly for the
privilege of mining here, by the petty Malay chiefs, Inches Ahad and
Mahmbd.
They levy it in person every two months. These two chiefs are
nominally under the Tamangong of Muar, (whose maternal uncles they
are,) but in reality are little better than banditti.
I give the following on the authority of the head Chinese miner at
Moung, as the names of the places around Mount Ophir (for the
gold is always procured at the foot), where mines have been es-
tablished : —
Battang Moung, Kedanon, Rejang, Kaddam, Tanong, Paeedalum,
Berinjin, Terring, Kayo Arro, Kamoyan, Jongi, Deddam, Poggi Baru,
Chindagon, Ayer Kuning, and Ayer Chamhi.
He also informed me that, formerly, nearly 1000 Chinese worked
in these mines ; but that of late, owing to the unsettled state of the
country, they had nearly been deserted. The Chinese, who still work
at the mines in spite of the oppression they suffer, depend on Malacca
for their supplies, for which they occasionally dispatch two or three of
their number, who take down with them the small portion of gold
dust they have been able to scrape together. The wild and deserted
state of the country, and the extent of forest to be traversed between
the foot of the mountain and Malacca, afford opportunities, not unfre-
quently taken advantage of, by the marauders that infest the frontier,
for the sake of the pittance of rice and salt fish, and a few grains of
gold dust. Murder is almost invariably added to robbery. Shortly
after my visit, two of these Chinese going up to the mines were found
murdered, in the heart of the Rheim forest on the road ; one with his
head nearly severed from the body ; the corpse of the other lay about
300 paces from that of his comrade : he appears to have sought safety
2 s2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
600 Visit to the Gold Mine at Battang Moving, [Oof.
in a vain flight ; hit left arm was cut through at the elbow, and body
horribly mangled.
We bad a fine view of the mountain from Gwmmi, as the cloudi
which had hitherto wrapt its triple peak in grey obscurity, now rolled
off in majestic wreaths, revealing to us Ophir's picturesque proportions.
We started from Gummi at 9 a. m. on foot : the Malays went on in
advance clearing the path through the low thicket, through which our
path now lay, to the banks of the Jerram river, along which we waded
for some distance ; near this we crossed the track of a rhinoceros.
About a mile and a quarter from the river stood the deserted house of
a Malay, the last trace of human habitation ; this place the Malays
call Rullowe, which I believe signifies a place where metal is melted,
or the smoke which is produced by fusion ; from this it may not be
unreasonable to infer that a mine formerly existed in this vicinity.
A little in advance of Rullowe the ascent of Mount Tando com-
mences ; this is the longest but most gradual of the three acclivities
which constitute the ascent. Having descended this and scaled part of
Gunong Peradap, we arrived at a steep bank of rock, called Padang
Battu or Plain of stone. On the right of Padang Battu the rush of the
river Jerram down the mountain side was distinctly audible. The surface
of the rock is intersected by numerous creepers, which formed a sort of
rope ladder we were glad to avail ourselves of. Here we rested
a short time, enjoying the extensive prospect this elevated situation
afforded. Leaving Padang Battu far below, stands on Permdap's
Summit a bluff rock named Battu Serambi, which signifies " the rock
of the porch."
The rock was first mistaken for the peak itself, but on arriving at
the bushy platform that crowns Serambi s mossy head, Ophir still stood
before us, nearer, but steeper and as lofty apparently as ever. A short
descent brought us to the bottom of the third and last ascent, viz.
Gunong Ledang. The trees here are of a stunted and venerable ap-
pearance, being for the most part covered with moss and lichens, a thin
carpet of which barely conceals the primitive rock beneath : we had lost
sight here of animals larger than the smaller reptiles that creep among
the decayed vegetable matter beneath our feet.
After passing Gunong Tando, the first ascent, elephants' tracks*
which were there numerous, were no longer visible. The solitary
scream of that singular caricature on the human species, the *' Oonka,"
and the note of the bird Selanas on Mount Paradap, were the last sounds
of animal life the forest yielded.
Digitized by
Google
I8S3.] and the Summit of Mount Ophir, SOI
After a short scramble, in which we were obliged in some places
to draw ourselves up by the trees and roots, we attained the sum*
tnit, from which we caught hasty glimpses through the rolling cloud,
fast clearing away, of a magnificent prospect beneath. To the
southward the states of Segamat and Muar; to the north-west
the mountains of Rumbowe and Serimenanti ; and to the north-east
Jompoie and part of Pahang, celebrated for its gold. Turning west-
wards lay the ruins of the ancient church of St. Paul's, on the flag-
staff hill at Malacca, and part of the town itself ; its bight and the sea
coast from Mount Formosa to Salengore, the glittering and placid
rarface of the water enamelled with numerous verdant islets. The
view inland presented a vast amphitheatre of thick foliage (with
here and there slight bare patches of sawah and pasture land), thrown
into various shades and tints by the rays of a setting sun.
The extreme apex of the mountain is formed of a block of greyish gra-
nite, surrounded by others, lying on a strip of table ground about 40 yards
long by ten broad, on which grew some stunted trees, a few of the fir
kind, some lichens and mountain shrubs, among which are found the
Pftis Palis, Samoot, the Russam, and Pruik Krek ; the Malays were
usable to tell the names of many of the shrubs, never having seen them
in the valley.
A thunder cloud growling and flashing a thousand feet beneath us
now interrupted the prospect ; owing to its influence, probably, the wea-
ther had been sultry during the afternoon ; the thermometer (Fahr.)
although in this elevated situation not sinking below 76° at 4 p. m. at
7 p. m. sunk to 69°, and at half past five a. m. the following morning
to its greatest depression 65£. The height of the loftiest peak above
the surface of the sea, as calculated by the thermometer and boiling
water, is 5693 feet.
The storm gradually ascending the mountain's sides induced us to
seek shelter under an extraordinary overhanging rock, a short way un-
der the summit, called Battu Seroodang.
The thunder storm had abated and finally ceased a little after sunset,
when a host of fire flies, sole possessors of these heights, contending
with the stars in liquid brilliance, floated around us, now soaring to the
loftiest peak (for we had taken up our bivouac for the night at the foot
of the rock near the summit) now sinking and gradually lost, sparkling
^d twinkling as they went, in the dizzy depths below. The Malaya
who were with me, complained much of the cold during the night and
particularly before sunrise ; but a brisk walk down the mountain side,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
503 On the nest of the Tailor Bird. [Oct,
which brought us in little more than three hours to Gummi, effectually
did away with the cause of complaint.
Whether the mountain just described, or its namesake on Pulo
Percha or Sumatra, called by Malays Gunong Passaman, or the Ophir of
Bruce in Sofala on the Mozambique coast, or Jamison's Ophir on the
S. E. coast of Africa, be the Ophir of Scripture, or not, must still re-
main matter of doubt.
To the admirers of the marvellous I would recommend the careful
perusal of San Mahmed'b wonderful adventures, in his ascent to the
8ummit of the mountain to entreat the hand of the enchanted princess
of the rock for his master, Mahmed Sultan of Malacca, as contained
in the Malayan historical work the Silldlet'-us-Saldtin, and the Malay
Annals.
Note. — In justice to the mountain I hare visited, suffice it here to quote two
passages from Dr. Robinson's Theological Dictionary, Art. " Ophir." " Joseph us
says, that the country of Ophir is in the Indies, and is called the golden country. It
if thought he means Chersonesus A urea, known by the name of Malacca, a pe-
ninsula opposite to Sumatra." Lucas Holstbnius after many inquiries thinks,
" we must fix on India in general, or the city of Supar in the Celebes : again Lips-
nius, who has composed a treatise concerning the country of Ophir, places it be-
yond the Ganged at Malacca, Java, Sumatra, Siam, Bengal, Pegu, &c"
II.— On the nest of the Tailor Bird. By Lieut. T. Hutton, 37 1 h Regt. N. I. ^
In Professor Rennie s work on the Architecture of Birds, he gives
two accounts of the manner in which the Tailor Bird constructs its
nest, and as neither of these appear exactly to coincide with facts
which have lately fallen under my observation, I have been induced to
offer the following remarks for insertion in the Journal of the As. Soc.
At page 258, the professor says :
"The most celebrated bird of this division is the one which in the East is par
excellence named the Tailor bird (Sylvia Sutorio, Lath.) the description of whose
performances we would be apt to suspect for an Oriental fiction, if we had not a
number of the actual specimens to prove their rigid authenticity. We do suspect
however that these very specimens have misled European naturalists a step be-
yond the truth in their accounts of its proceedings. ' The Tailor Bird,' says
Darwin, ' will not trust its nest to the extremity of a slender twig, but makes one
more advance in safety by fixing it to the leaf itself. It picks op a dead leaf
and sews it to the side of a living one ; its slender bill being its needle and its
thread some fine fibres : the lining of the nest consists of feathers, gossamer and
down ; its eggs are white ; the colour of the bird light yellow ; its length three
inches j its weight f M of an ounce, so that the materials of the nest and the weight
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Jour At. Sot.
mif.PLxrm
v„
K
X.
*Xuu&>n(/ifo4}tmunlrf&daiimJtt
2
e
Larqt fiankcm. /7wi Boundary
tfth* Malacca J*Av?*kM<Ur «-
Stuufte JthffnA
Mil* -J*^
J £ Tassm &k
Digiti
zed by G00gle
ti
Digitized by
Google
1833.] On the nest of the Tailor Bird. 503
of the bird are not likely to draw down a habitation bo slightly suspended. A nest
of this bird is preserved in the British Museum*/'
The second account runs thus :
" There are now three of such nests in the Museum, all of which certainly give
some colour to the story of a dead leaf having been sewed to a living one ; yet we
have the authentic narrative of an eye witness of its operations which mentions
nothing of this kind, but on the contrary serves to confirm our doubts. It will
consequently be advisable to give this narrative in the language of the original ob-
server, whose splendid figure we shall also take the liberty of copying. Comparing
it with the Baya, which we have already described, he says : ' Equally curious in
the structure of its nest, and far superior in the variety of its plumage is the Tailor
Bird of Hindustan, so called from its instinctive ingenuity in forming its nest ; it
first selects a plant with large leaves, and then gathers cotton from the shrub,
spins it to a thread by means of its long bill and slender feet, and then as with a
needle, sews the leaves neatly together to conceal its nest. The Tailor Bird (Mota-
cilia tutoria, Linn.) resembles some of the Humming birds at the Brazils in shape
and colour ; the hen is clothed in brown 5 but the plumage of the cock displays the
varied tints of azure, purple, green and gold, so common in those American beau-
ties. Often have I watched the progress of an industrious pair of Tailor birds in
my garden, from their first choice of a plant until the completion of the nest and
the enlargement of the youngf.' "
In answer to these statements I shall make a few observations on the
structure of two of these nests now in my possession, which were found
in the garden of Capt. Hbarsky, 2nd Local Horse.
The first was neatly formed of raw cotton and bits of cotton threads,
woven strongly together, thickly lined with horse-hair and supported
between two leaves on a twig of the amaltus tree (cassia fistula).
These two leaves were first placed longitudinally upon each other, and
stitched in that position from the points to rather more than half way
up the sides with a strong thread spun from the raw cotton by the
bird, leaving the entrance to the nest, at the upper end, between the
stalks of the leaves, at the point where they join the branch of the
tree. Both of these leaves were of course green and living. Subse-
quently, however, they were blown down by a high wind, and being
now withered, the nest appears enclosed between dead leaves.
Darwin's account therefore will be found to differ materially from
mine, inasmuch as the bird neither makes use of a dead leaf in the
construction of the nest, nor does it stitch it with fibres, but with
strong cotton threads. The lining also of the nest, instead of being
«« feathers, gossamer and down," is solely of horse hairj.
• Zoonomia, S. xvi. 13. 3. t Forbes* Oriental Memoirs, i. 55.
X Mr. S. P. Stacy has favored us with two specimens in which also the stitches
are of spun cotton thread : the nest is of cotton and vegetable fibre.— Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
504 On the nest of the Tailor Bird. [Oct.
It appears to me that the nest described by Darwin may have been
originally constructed of living leaves, and that one of them through
$ome accidental cause, being detached from the branch of the tree and
becoming dry and withered, led to the belief of the dead and living
leaves being sewed together — and indeed a case of this kind happened
in Captain HEARSEvVgarden, in consequence of which the bird forsook
the nest.
I am moreover borne out in this idea by the figure given by Pennant
and copied by professor Rennib, in which (as will be seen in the ac-
companying sketch*), the dead leaf appears to have been detached
from a small stalk growing out of the same stem as the green leaf to
which the nest is attached. This figure iff very similar in appearance to
the nest in my possession above described.
The second specimen is more satisfactory still, as in it were found
an egg and two young birds nearly fledgedf. The neat was at
the end of a branch of the Bhela (semecarpus anacardium), about two
feet from the ground, and constructed of the same materials as the
above, viz. raw cotton, cotton threads, also a little flax, and lined with
horse-hair alone : the leaves are stitched together partly with thread
prepared by the bird, and partly with spun thread, and so well con-
cealed was it, that even after Captain Hbarsbt had discovered it (by
accident) he could scarcely find it again to shew to me. The young
birds were placed with the nest in a trap cage, and thus we succeeded
in capturing both the old birds.
I am however of opinion that this is not the kind to which the name
of the Tailor Bird has hitherto been applied, but a distinct species.
The following is a description of it :
(Sylvia ruficapilla ? Mihi.) Length from the tip of the bill to the end of the
tail, 5| inches in one specimen, and four inches in the other ; the tail of one is two
inches in length, the other 1} inch, and both appear imperfect Crown of the head
fine rufous red, nape cinereous with a tinge of rufous ; back, scapulars, and ramp
and upper tail coverts, olive green ; wings light brown, with a tinge of green at the
edges of the outer webs, and a tinge of the same on the upper wing coverts ; tail of
12 feathers, narrow, the two middle ones longest, of a lighter brown than the wings
and with a faint greenish tinge ; the outer feather on each side the tail with a small
white spot at the tip. All the under parts are white. On the sides of the throat
is a small black stripe, which is only seen when the bird is in motion, wholly disv
appearing when in a state of rest. Legs slender and flesh coloured. Upper man*
dible dark horn colour, under one pale ; length of the bill half an inch ; irides
rufous red.
They differ only in length.
* See " Architecture of Birds." Lib. Entertaining Knowledge, f Fig. 3.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] On the nest of the Tailor Bird. 505
The young birds are similar in colours, except that they are paler
and the top of the head cinereous with a faint rufous tinge : bill yel-
lowish.
The eggs are white, spotted, chiefly at the larger end, with tawny spots.
They are very lively little birds, exhibiting a good deal of the man-
ner of the creeper tribe (Certhiq), carefully searching beneath every leaf ,
and into every chink and hole for insects, which they seize with great ra-
pidity, flirting their tails up and down, and uttering a sharp reiterated cry.
Now it would follow, the accounts of Darwin and Forbes being cor-
rect, that there is more than one species of bird in India, to which the
specific name of Sutoria would apply : for instance Darwin says, the
Tailor bird is wholly light yellow, and in this Latham agrees with
him ; while Forbbs on the contrary declares it to vie in colours with
the humming birds of the Brazils. It appears to me however that the
latter author has confounded the tailor bird with the purpled creeper,
(Certhia purpurata, Lath), which is the only bird I can remember at all
approaching his description. The nest of the purpled creeper is how-
ever to me unknown*
That there is more than one species which sews the leaves of plants
together to support and conceal its nests, I am almost certain, as a
pair of birds, larger than those I have described, have been several
times seen frequenting large-leafed plants, among which were discovered
the commencement of one or two nests which had been abandoned, appa-
rently from the leaves being blown asunder almost as soon as sewed to-
gether by the strong S.W. winds which prevail here. These birds were
brown above and dirty white beneath.
The purpled creepers are now becoming plentiful in gardens here, and
as I shall pay attention to their habits, and watch them closely, I am
in hopes I shall be able to ascertain their method of constructing their
nests also.
The description which approaches nearest to my specimens, is that
of the " Long Tailed Warbler" of Latham ; viz. top of the head pale
rufous, hind part of the neck, back, rump, wing coverts and tail, pale
olive green ; quills olive brown, tail long, slender, composed of narrow
feathers ; the two middle ones as long as the body. Inhabits China.
This is so near, that I can consider mine as none other. I do not
perceive a specific name affixed to it, and have therefore given it that of
" Ruficapilla." This however can easily be dropped, should the bird
have been already christened.
Norm. As the two first figures referred to by Lt. H. will be found in the " Archi-
tecture of Birds of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, we have omitted them i
the author's own sketch, No. 3, is inserted in plate xyiii.— Ed.
2 T
Digiti
zed by G00gle
506 On the two jreat powers, [Oct.
III. — An Inquiry into the Laws governing the two great powers, Attraction
and Repulsion, as operating in the Aggregation and Combination of '/
Atoms. By Julius Jeffreys, Esq. $
[Continued fi-om page 464.}
Moreover, there is another source for the sensible heat, in the
sudden and forcible compression, which the circumjacent air under-
goes, at the moment of the explosion, from which condensation the
air itself must evolve heat. The explosion of euchlorine gas, with
an evolution of heat, is perhaps a stronger objection, than the former,
for it is not attended with a new combination of the elements. This
is, however, an objection rather to one of the laws of heat, namely, its
becoming latent, than to its materiality, against which, in fact, it is
only an indirect objection, by shewing the law, that heat becomes
latent in a change to a rarer state, not to be universal. But the whole
doctrine of latent heat might be imperfect, and yet not invalidate the
materiality of heat. Nor should an individual exception (supposing it
to be such) be considered as subverting a doctrine of so perfect, and
almost universal application, as is that of latent heat ; much less then
does it refute the material doctrine, which is not necessarily dependent
on the former.
The manner however, in which the above experiment is made,
appears to me, as lessening greatly its force, as an exception to the
doctrine of latent heat. A small quantity of the gas is used over
mercury. As this liquid is incompressible, and so weighty as not to
be readily susceptible of sudden motion, it must offer a very great
resistance to the instantaneous expansion of the gas, and by this
re-action may force out sufficient heat and light to become visible
(i. e. a spark or flash) ; but after the expansion is finished, if much of
the gas had been used, it is not improbable, that a fall of temperature
would have been evident, in a thermometer introduced.
4. The fact that some gases combine with each other, and form
solids, with but a small rise of temperature, as when ammonia com •
bines with many gases, is an objection the reverse of the former ; and
like it is an exception to the doctrine of latent heat.
It may however be thus explained ; that the affinity of such gases,
both for heat, and for each other, is so great, that it condenses most
of their heat, without evolving it; in the same manner, as when
oxygen and nitrogen gases are condensed in nitre.
5. The contraction of clay by great heat, and of water in advancing
from 32° to 40° of Fahrenheit, have been considered as objections to
the law of expansion, and therefore to this doctrine of heat. The
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 607
former however may arise from the great attraction of clay for
water; which only the greatest heat can drive off; and of the latter
the usual explanation, that it arises from the loss of polarity, which
the particles had assumed, appears quite satisfactory. If these he
objections, they apply, at least as much, to the theory of vibration ;
for even were it possible, that an increase of vibration in particles
could give rise to expansion, these experiments would show increase of
vibration attended with contraction.
6. The combinations and decompositions often effected by the rays
of the son, are certainly not always conformable to the laws of this
doctrine of heat ; but neither are they to any other doctrine.
7. It has been objected to heat being the cause of elasticity in gases ;
that this force varies as the density, although in the condensation of
gases, much heat is evolved. But this experiment only shews, that,
in the condensation of gases, part of their heat is evolved ; which if
it remained would cause their elasticity to vary in a higher ratio than
that of the density.
8. Lastly, it has been objected to the materiality of heat, that
notwithstanding the most accurate experiments have been made, it has
always been found impossible to ascertain, that it has weight.
This objection however is not valid, since it has neither been possible
to weigh light, though few will doubt its materiality, or the materiality
of some ether in which its phenomena are seated ; which hypothesis
merely removes the difficulty of its materiality one step farther. It
has also been very justly remarked by a great philosopher, whom I
have already quoted, that if this etherial fluid be supposed as much
lighter than hydrogen gas, as the latter is than the metal platinum,
it could not probably be ascertained to have weight by any means
which are known*.
The above are most of the facts, which are considered as objections to
the material doctrine of heat, many of which may be sufficiently explained.
Much more may be said in support of the doctrine.
As the materiality of light can scarcely be questioned, since Sir
hkkc Newton has so ably argued in proof of it, and since on it he has
built his system of optics, which could not be founded on any other
doctrine, the striking analogy between it and heat, must strongly
point out the materiality of the latter. Heat, like light, is radiated
from the sun ; like light, it travels with exceeding velocity ; like light,
it is radiated by many bodies, is reflected, is refracted ; and according
to Bbrabd, is sometimes, like light, polarized. From analogy so strik*
* Sir H. Davy's Elements of Chemical Philosophy, p. 97.
2 t 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
508 On the two great powers, fOcr.
ing as this, some philosophers have been induced to consider them
as modifications of the same matter ; or that light, by its actions on
bodies, produces the phenomena of heat. Bat of late years sufficient
evidence has been brought of their being separate substances. The ex*
periments of Hrrschkl, and Sir H. Englbfield, shewing that heat is
not quite so much refracted in the prismatic spectrum as light, whence
that much heat is found within the red ray, are a strong proof of this.
Nor do the later experiments of Berard (supposing them more correct),
which would prove, that the intensity of the heat within the red ray
is less than was represented by these philosophers, at all invalidate
the argument. For it is only necessary to shew, that any heat may
travel from the sun, independent of light, to prove a difference between
them.
Herschrl has also shewn*, that if the red ray be thrown on red
glass, the light is transmitted, but nearly T V of the heat are detained ;
and hence, that this appears incompatible with the supposition that
the ray is homogeneous ; for were it so, the heat transmitted should
have corresponded with the light.
The rays from a fire being differently transmitted by glass (those of
light being transmitted, but those of heat being most of them detained)
is an argument of a similar nature.
Heat is radiated without light by many bodies below certain tem-
peratures, and others, as phosphori, radiate light without heat.
The analogy between light and heat is so striking, that since the
former is material, it is almost necessary to consider the letter as such,
and yet there is sufficient evidence of a distinction between them.
It is evident from his writingsf. that Sir Isaac Newton was of opini-
on, that the phenomena of heat arise from the action of light on bodies,
causing vibrations in a " subtle medium" in them. But it is equally
plain that by heat he meant, those phenomena only which are appar-
ent to the senses and commonly called heat. From the very imperfect
state of chemical philosophy in his day, the doctrine of calorific repul-
sion was scarcely taught; and most of the experiments, in proof of the
materiality of heat, have been since performed.
This great man has by several passages, especially by some in the
18th query in his Treatise on Optics, suggested the existence of a high-
ly elastic subtle fluid, so nearly allied to the matter of calorific repul-
sion of the present day, that part of this query, with but the smallest
modification, is an accurate description of the latter. " If/' observes
• Philosophical Transactions for 1800.
f Optics, Query 18.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 509
Sir Isaac Nbwton, *• in two large, tall, cylindrical, vessels of glass
inverted, two little thermometers be suspended, so as not to touch
the vessels, and the air be drawn out of one of these vessels, and
these vessels, thus prepared, be carried out of a cold place into a
warm one, the thermometer in vacuo will grow warm as much, and
almost as soon, as the thermometer which is not in vacuo. And
when the vessels are carried back into the cold place, the thermo-
meter in vacuo will grow cold, almost as soon as the other ther-
mometer."
" Is not the heat of the warm room conveyed through the vacuum
by the vibrations of a much subtiler medium than air, which, after
the air was drawn out, remained in the vacuum ? and is not this
medium the same with that medium by which light is reflected and re*
fracted ? And do not hot bodies communicate their heat to contiguous
cold ones, by the vibrations of this medium propagated from them into
the cold ones ? And is not this medium exceedingly more rare and
subtle than air, and exceedingly more elastic and active ? And doth it
not readily pervade all bodies* ?"
If to these questions were added this one, " And is it not attracted
by all particles of all bodies, but with various degrees of force in each ?"
This medium would at once form the matter of calorific repulsion,
and the phenomena of moving heat would arise from its motion and
vibration, which must necessarily happen, both from its various affi-
nities, and from its own elasticity tending to an equilibrium of force.
Caloric, like this medium, exists, from the minuteness and mutual
elasticity of its particles, in what is a vacuum to other bodies. By
• It is a singular circumstance, that some late authors have quoted this pas-
sage in order to shew, that Nbwton was doubtful about the nature of light, and
teemed to accord with the theory of tremulous motions in an universal ether,
rather than of moving particles emitted from bodies. It is certainly incredible
that Sir I. Njbwton should at the end of. bis Treatise on Optics, introduce an opinion
which would thus overthrow the whole doctrine he had been labouring to establish.
Nor is it more probable that entertaining such an opinion, he should have written
the 14th section of the 1st book of his Principia, which with it would be nothing more
than vain and idle speculation. But the words of the query convey no such mean-
ing. They express' an impression upon the author's mind, that the phenomena of
refraction, and reflection, are not the effect of attraction or repulsion exercised by
the particles of the grosser bodies, commonly called mediums, upon the particles
of light, but those of a very far more subtle medium interspersed between the par-
ticles of the above-mentioned bodies. Nothing is said implying that this subtle
fluid is light itself; on the contrary it is spoken of in a totally distinct character,
as a medium, that is, as a substance having a boundary through which light finds
a passage, or from the surface of which it is reflected.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
B 1 6 On the two great power*, [Oct.
the motion and vibration of caloric, or this medium, bodies become of
equal temperature. By the atmosphere of caloric round the atoms of
bodies, may be effected the reflection and refraction of light, in like
manner as this medium is supposed to operate. Caloric, like this me-
dium, is exceedingly more rare and subtle than air, and exceedingly
more elastic and active ; for it loses much of its rarity, subtlety, and
elasticity when attracted by the gross atoms of gases, which it encom-
passes, endows with mutual repulsion, and in fact transforms into
elastic air. Caloric, like this medium, readily pervades all bodies.
Is not caloric therefore no other than this medium ? and hence,
material ?
[Lastly, although we have above seen that a vibration or other mo-
tion of the gross particles of bodies cannot in any way account for the
iilating power of caloric, it does not at all follow that the phenomena
of sensible heat may not depend on a peculiar condition of the particles
of the matter of heat itself, such as vibrations in them of differ-
ent degrees of intensity. Hence the absolute quantity of the matter
of heat may not always be indicated by the phenomena of sensible heat
And in sudden or violent actions, as those of friction, detonation, and
combustion, these phenomena may thus be considerably increased with-
out any increase in the absolute quantity of the matter of heat. In
this manner the two leading hypotheses may be united, and the chief
difficulties attendant on each being removed, a doctrine, deserving of
reception, may be established as a well-digested theory of caloric, in
hs characters of an expanding and heating medium.]
Having now, I trust, shewn, that the opponent force to the attraction
of atoms cannot be a repulsive power inherent in them, but, that it arises
from the agency of heat ; and that heat cannot be considered as arising
from a vibrating motion in the atoms of bodies themselves, but that
it is a very subtle fluid, whose particles are possessed of two powers,
always inherent in them ; namely, that of repelling each other, and
that of attracting all other matter : — having shewn this, the next in-
quiry which would present itself, is, into the laws governing these
two powers of heat, were such a direct inquiry possible.
From the extreme minuteness of the particles of heat, and from
their attracting powerfully the atoms of all other matter, it will follow,
that every atom of the latter is surrounded by numerous particles of
the former ; all of which particles of heat, must tend with great force
towards the centre of the atom they surround, and would be in ab-
solute contact with each other, did not their other power (namely, the
repulsion which operates between the particles of heat themselves,)
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repvhhn. Bit
prevent their actual contact. Hence they do not form dense masses,
bat atmospheres round all the atoms of bodies, and endow them with
mutual elasticity, which operating against the cohesion of bodies pre-
vents the contact of their atoms.
From this it is manifest, that the mutual repulsion between the
particles of heat themselves and their attraction for the atoms of all
other matter, are forces which operate against each other ; the former
tending to expand heat, and the latter forcing its particles near to
each other by collecting it around the atoms of bodies in the form of
atmospheres, the density of which will vary as the force by which
they are detained round atoms varies.
Since, then, these two powers of heat are always operating against
each other, no opportunity can be afforded of measuring either of
them as a simple force. Since also the atmospheres of heat are always
from other causes subjected to compression, the only force, which, can
be judged of, is a compound repulsion ; namely, the elastic force of
the particles of heat modified by their other power, attraction, con-
densing them round atoms.
The ratio in which this compound repulsion varies, must greatly
depend on the force with which the atmospheres of heat are detained
by atoms, and will therefore probably differ in all bodies.
It is however of great importance to obtain so much knowledge of
its properties, as may account for the stability of atoms which takes
place in the formation of bodies, &c. which must arise from an equi-
librium subsisting between the compound repulsion above-mentioned,
and the mutual attraction between the atoms themselves.
This investigation, though essentially necessary to a sound explana-
tion of the constitution of bodies in their various states, has not hi-
therto, I believe, ever been carried on. I shall endeavour to effect
it by pursuing the following inquiries :
1st. Whether the repulsion from heat varies in a less inverse
ratio of the distance than the attraction of atoms.
2ndly. Whether it varies in the same inverse ratio as the attrac-
tion.
And, having shewn that neither of these laws can take place in
nature, I shall proceed in a second division to consider the important
propositioQ which remains ; viz.
That the force of repulsion with which heat endows atoms, varies
in a greater inverse ratio of the distance than the attraction ; and to
demonstrate that all states and combinations of bodies are satisfactorily
accounted for by this law.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
512 On the two great power** [Oct.
1st. Whether the repulsion from heat Yaries in a leas inverse ratio
of the distance than the attraction between the atoms of the bodies it
pervades.
If this be admitted with respect to the law of repulsion, since at-
traction varies inversely as the square of the distance, let the repul-
sive force vary inversely as the distance. And since these two forces
must be in equilibrio in any solid whose atoms are at rest, let the
following represent the forces operating between any two atoms, A
and B, at various distances ; and let the atoms be placed at any dis-
tance 3, at which point the forces must therefore be in equilibrio.
Distance*. 12 3 4 5 &c.
Repulsion, 96 : 48 : 32 : 24 : 19,2 : &c.
A B
Attraction, 288 : 72 : 32 : 18 : 11,5 : &c.
Here it is plain, that at distance 3 these atoms can be stationary ;
but if by the slightest force or agitation they are made to approach
each other in the smallest degree, as their mutual attraction becomes
stronger than the repulsive force, and increases as they approach in a
higher ratio, it is manifest, that A and B will come together, and
remain in absolute contact. -
Again, if A and B are separated in any degree beyond distance
3, they will instantly lose their adhesion, as now the attraction loses
force in a greater ratio than the repulsion.
This law would in fact constitute what is called in mechanics an
unstable equilibrium ; and hence atoms of matter would soon be either
in absolute contact or at infinite distances from each other.
Yet, however, in one of the ablest systems of chemical philosophy,
which has ever appeared, we find the following passage ; " From the
very abrupt transition of steam, from a volume of 1700 to that of 1,
without any material increase of pressure, one would be inclined to
think, that the condensation of it was owing to the breaking of a
spring rather than to the curbing of one." " The last however, " says
the author, " is the fact. The condensation arises from the action of
affinity becoming superior to that of heat, by which the latter is over-
ruled, but not weakened.
" As the approximation of the particles takes place, their repulsion
increases from the condensation of the heat, but their affinity in-
creases, it should seem, in a still greater ratio, till the approxima-
tion has attained a certain degree, when an equilibrium between those
two powers takes place, and the liquid water is the result*/'
* D Alton's New System of Chemical Philosophy, Part 1st, page 149.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
ISM.] Attradtkm and Repulsion. Hi
This passage *xactry proposes the above law, that 6s particles ap-
proach their affinity increases m a greater ratio than the repulsive'
fdrce, or that the repulsive force varies in a less ratio than the attrac-
tion. The inadequacy of this explanation may at once be shewn.
If, between the atoms of steam, the attraction has become greater
than the repulsion, and if the attraction varies in a greater ratio,
i. e. increases faster as the atoms approach than the repulsion, the
particles must come into actual contact. The equilibrium spoken of
in this quotation, can no more take place than between the forces of
the atoms, A and B, in the diagram, should they be once within the
point of unstable equilibrium.
It cannot then be a law of the repulsion of heat that it varies in a
less inverse ratio than the attraction.
Secondly. — Whether the compound repulsion from heat varies in
the same inverse ratio of the distance as the attraction of the atoms
of the body.
Supposing it a law of repulsion that it varies in the Same inverse
ratio of the distance as the attraction, it is evident that if the two
forces are equal at one distance, they will also be equal at any other ;
and if one force be the greater at one distance, it will also be the grea-
ter at any other ; and therefore likewise, if one force be less than the
other at one distance, the same force will be less at any other.
Let us apply this law to the explanation^—
First. — Of the constitution of solids.
When any body passes from the liquid to the solid state, it is right-
ly supposed, that by the abstraction of heat, the attraction is enabled
to bring the atoms of the fluid within the distance at which from the
form and qualities of those atoms, solidity naturally subsists. But
according to this law ; as the attraction was more powerful at the
greater, it will also be at the smaller, distance ; and, in the solid, all
the heat would either be expelled or so compressed, that the atoms
would be in absolute contact, which certainly is not the case ; for all
solids are capable of contraction.
Secondly. — Of the constitution of liquids. Although most philoso-
phers admit the existence of an attraction between the atoms of liquids,
yet many* consider the liquid state as depending solely on the pres-
sure of the air ; without which, all bodies would either be solids or
gases.
* BtaTHOLLST in his Cheofc Statics. Translation by Lambb*t, page 352—
And many others.
2u
Digiti
zed by G00gle
514 On the two great powers, [Oct.
This Lavoisix* himself has enforced. After some former remarks
he continues thus* : " Whence it appears, that without this atmos-
pheric pressure we should not have any permanent liquid, and should
only see bodies in that state of existence in the very instant of melt-
ing ; for the smallest addition of caloric would then instantly separ-
ate their particles, and dissipate them through the surrounding me-
dium." This doctrine this great philosopher has supported by ex-
periments on liquids placed in vacuo, which rapidly pass into vapor on
the removal of atmospheric pressure.
Although most of these experiments appear to confirm the above
doctrine, yet I may state certain objections which appear to me unan-
swerable. Though most liquids do pass into vapor under the ex-
hausted receiver, yet there are some, such as concentrated sulphuric
acid, which scarcely appear to do so. This acid (as is well known in
what is named the freezing experiment) by its great attraction condens-
es aqueous vapor formed in an exhausted receiver, and thus preserves
a partial vacuum. It not only remains in the liquid state itself, but
also condenses the vapor from the vacuum.
Again. If even all liquids could be shown to vaporize at natural
temperatures in vacuo, it would not be any proof of the doctrine, ow-
ing to the imperfect nature of the experiment itself. Any liquid un-
der the pressure of the air, must soon be of the same temperature with
the air, i. e. endeavour to part with heat with the same force : but as
soon as the atmospheric pressure is removed, a great force, tending
to expel heat from the liquid, is removed ; the effort therefore of the
liquid to expel heat becomes less than before, and therefore less
than the effort of the circumjacent air. The consequence of this
must be, a continual passage of heat from the air to the liquid, and its
vapor, which will make the evaporation unlimited. Were it possi-
ble to procure a receiver which should not be permeable to heat, there
would soon be a limit to the evaporation of a liquid, and the receiver
would doubtless remain exhausted. It is certainly true, that under
such circumstances, water would not remain a liquid, and a small part
of it would pass iuto vapor, most of it would become ice. But ether,
alkohol, and other liquids which would resist freezing, would proba-
bly continue as liquids in a receiver impermeable to heat. The receiv-
er of any air-pump is in a similar situation to that of a common pump ;
except that on the removal of the pressure, heat is forced into the
former and water into the latter, by the very same force ; namely, the
• Elements of Chemistry, translated by Kerb, page 56.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 515
pressure of the atmosphere. Hence it would appear, that the pressure
of the atmosphere does not so materially affect the constitution of li-
quids, as is generally supposed ; for, although by compressing them
with great force, it resists their passing into vapor, yet it at the same
time endeavours to afford them the heat requisite for this transition,
though doubtless with less force.
Let us now consider the constitution of a liquid, supposing the
repulsion from heat and atttraction as varying in the same ratio.
And first. — In a liquid, these two forces could not be equal to each
other at any one distance of the atoms ; for since they would also be
equal at any other, no resistance whatsoever would be offered to any force,
such as that of the atmosphere compressing the liquid into au absolute-
ly dense mass, the atoms of which would be in contact. They would,
in fact, constitute, what in mechanics is named an equilibrium of in-
difference, liable to be destroyed by the slightest extraneous force.
Again : the attraction could not be the greater force at any one
distance, for it would also be greater at any other ; and much more
then could no liquid exist, for there would be, besides external pres-
sure, this additional force tending to condense the liquid, and no force
to resist their action.
Lastly : if the repulsive force be greater than the attraction at one
distance, it also will at any other, and this excess of the repulsion
over the attraction, might be sufficient to resist also the pressure of the
air ; and the constitution of a liquid might be considered as compatible
with such a law. But let us examine this more minutely. If the
pressure of the air were removed from a liquid, since the repulsion was
so far superior to the attraction, it would necessarily expand the liquid
without limit ; for it would, at any distance of the atoms, continue the
more powerful force. But it has, I think, been above shewn, that
there is no evidence of liquids expanding into vapors without any ad-
dition of heat. The vapor from a liquid in vacuo is expanded, both
by heat assumed from the liquid and by heat forced in by the atmos-
phere without ; and yet the evaporation of most liquids in vacuo is
not instantaneous, as it would be according to such a law. Of some,
as sulphuric acid and certain oils, it is at most, exceedingly slow.
There is moreover evidence of the attraction in liquids becoming, on
a small separation of their atoms, stronger than the repulsion ; for
otherwise no attraction would be apparent in them, nor would their
atoms ever be collected into spherical drops ; which can only be effect-
ed by the excess of the attraction over the expanding force. This
2u2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$16 On the two gremt power* , [Oct.
last is a two-fold argument ; for since, on a small separation of tba
atoms of liquids, their attraction becomes superior to the repulsm
force, how is it possible that without any addition to it, this repulttre
force should expand them into gases ? And again, since the attrac-
tion is the stronger force, when the particles are somewhat removed,
if the two forces varied in the same ratio, it has been already shewn
that no liquids oould exist ; but atoms, so acted upon, must be reduced
into masses absolutely dense.
The constitution of liquids then could not be accounted for, if the
compound repulsion of beat be supposed to vary in the same ratio as
the attraction.
Thirdly. — Of the constitution of gases.
When a liquid passes into the gaseous state, its atoms art so far se-
parated from each other that their mutual attraction is much lessened,
but from its great augmentation of bulk, the pressure it is subjected
to is greatly increased. Hence, in a gas the chief force opposing
expansion, is the pressure of the air ; and to enable it to resist this force,
the repulsion must be so augmented as to exceed the attraction by a
force equal to the pressure. ^
It is this excess of the expanding force over the attraction, which m
alone capable of being measured.
The experiments of Mr. Botlb, as is well known, tended to shew
that the density of gases varies as the compressing force ; and Niw*
ton proved that if this be true, the expanding force operating between
the atoms, will be inversely as their distances.
But as only the excess of this force over the attraction » capable of
measurement, it is plainly this excess of the repulsion which was
shewn to vary inversely as the distance between atoms.
If, then, the repulsion from heat and attraction vary in the ?ane
ratio, and if this ratio be the inverse square of the distance, any differ-
ence between the two forces ought also to vary in the same ratio.
And although this difference in the experiment of these gmft
philosophers, is seen to vary in a less ratio than the inverse square of
the distance, yet it will not appear incompatible with thk or era
some higher power being the real ratio of the repulsion between the
atoms of any gas, when it is remembered, that on increasing or lessen-
ing the density of a gas, by varying the compressing force ; in tke
one case much heat is given out, and in the other much is assnmfd
This must cause the expanding force apparently to vary in a iar less
inverse ratio, than it otherwise would, if heat did uot pass out on in*
creasing, or were not assumed on lessening, the density of a gas.
Digitized by
Google
1833 .] Attraction and RepuUion. 517
I am ready indeed to acknowledge, that it is not possible to prove
from the constitution of a simple gas, that the two powers attraction
and repulsion from heat do not vary in the same ratio ; for the effec-
tive repulsion, though (according to this law) superior to the attraction
at every distance, may have its force limited by atmospheric compres-
sion.
Yet, however, since both in solids and liquids it has been proved
that the two forces cannot vary in the same ratio, it may be concluded
that they neither can, when a body has assumed the gaseous state,
although from the peculiar nature of a gas, it may not be possible
directly to prove this fact.
Fourthly. — Of the solution of solids in liquids.
Of all combinations none are more frequent, than the solution of solids
in liquids ; and of all states no one is more remarkable, than that of many
bodies in solution. Oftentimes a dense solid is disintegrated by the
powerful affinity of a liquid ; and yet a very weak combination takes
place. A combination, in which most of the characters of the bodiea
remain, contrary to a well known law of combination.
It is somewhat remarkable, that even Brrthollst, who has written
very fully and ably on Chemical Statics, should have said very little
in explanation of the weakness of the combination in many solutions.
The two following are the chief passages in his work, which refer to
this important question.
'< Solution," he observes, " is therefore, the effect of a power which
can overcome the resistance of the force of cohesion, and the differ*
ence of specific gravity*; and again, " in reality it (the solvent) exer-
cises a force similar to that of the affinity which produces combinations,
and whose effect is limited, in the solution of a solid, by the force of
cohesion, &c.f" The late Dr. Murray, while supporting his doc*
trine of mixed gases, ha* written more definitely on this subject. " In
the solution of a solid," observer this able author, " there are opposed
the force of affinity between the solid substance and the solvent, and
the cohesion of the solid retaining the solid particles in aggregation (."
And again he writes : " In the solution of salts in water, the attrac-
tion exerted is merely sufficient to give fluidity to the solid and to coun-
teract its cohesion and specific gravity ; the properties are not alter*
ed, &c.«"
• Chemical Statics, translated by Lambbrt, toI. i. 20.
t Ditto, vol. i. 296.
X System of Chemistry, yqL i. 40.
f Ditto, p. 41.
Digitized by
Google
518 On the two great powers, [Oct.
These explanations, however, though perhaps at first sight appa-
rently satisfactory, will not account for the imperfect combination
which generally take place in solution.
It will not be difficult to shew that the cohesion and greater spe-
cific gravity of the solid, cannot be the forces, which prevent an in-
timate combination from taking place. When once the attraction for
the atoms of the liquid has overcome these forces, the atoms of salt
and water would come into absolute contact and form a most intimate
combination.
This is evident from the following considerations : — that, as the
atoms of salt separate from each other, their attraction decreases.
But, as they approach those of the water, their attraction for the lat-
ter, increases in as great a ratio as their own cohesion decreases.
Hence, since the attraction for the atoms of the water, when compara-
tively at a distance from those of the salt, is superior in force to the
cohesion of the latter, when near to each other, — much more then
would the attraction for the water exceed the cohesion of the salt,
when the atoms of the salt have separated from each other, but ap-
proached those of the water.
The difference of specific gravity in itself, but an inconsiderable
force, does not increase. The effect resulting from all these forces
would be, an actual contact of the atoms of the solid with those of the
fluid. How much more then, an intimate combination.
This effect can only be prevented, by the repulsive force of the
heat ; which must operate between the atoms of a solid and those of a
liquid, in like manner as between any other atoms. Bat if the attrac-
tion is superior to the repulsion at one distance, it will also be at any
other, (according to this law ;) and this superiority of the attraction
will increase as the atoms of the solid approach those of the liquid.
The intimacy of the combination therefore cannot be prevented by the
repulsion, if being already inferior to the attraction, it varies in the
same ratio with it.
The solution of solids in liquids and the weak resulting combina-
tions, cannot then be explained, if the force of repulsion be supposed to
vary in the same ratio as the attraction. Neither could the mere
condensation of many gases by liquids be accounted for, as might also
be proved.
Fifthly. — Of the solution of liquids in gases.
Although various theories have been proposed, in explanation of the
solution of liquids, in gaseous fluids, yet no one is altogether satisfac-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 619
tory, for to each objections may be brought. I shall briefly review them
separately, and then inquire whether this fact can be explained, on
the supposition, that the repulsive force of heat varies in the same
ratio as the attraction. The inquiry will be directed especially to
the solution of water in the atmosphere, as being the most familiar and
striking instance.
First, that aqueous vapor exists in the atmosphere, solely by its own
expansive force. This hypothesis has had two forms. Mr. Dalton
has supposed, that between different gases the attraction and repulsive
force of the atoms are so nearly equal, that gases are neutral to-
wards each other* ; and therefore, that the air has no effect on its hy-
grometric vapor, which would exist from its own elasticity equally,
whether the air be present or not.
Several objections have been brought against this theory, some of
which Mr. Dalton has very ably and ingeniously answered. But
there are others, which cannot be answered. One of them appears to me
alone so weighty an objection, as to render it unnecessary to enter in-
to any besides it, — namely, that if vapor, existing in the atmosphere,
were perfectly neutral towards it, then certainly the density, and not
the bulk of the atmosphere, would be increased by the presence of the
vapor. But Newton has proved that the contrary takes place.
-Aqueous vapor increases the bulk of the air, and even so much as
to lessen its density.
If the vapor and air are quite neutral towards each other, how
could the elastic force of tbe former act against the atoms of the air
so as to separate them, which must be the case ; for otherwise the
density would be increased in proportion to the vapor present, instead
of being diminished ?
Mr. Dalton has endeavoured to answer this objection by the fol-
lowing comparison, which I shall attempt to examine, inasmuch as I
am persuaded it is not applicable, though it has been admitted as such
by many ; and I may state a refutation of it, which has presented it-
self to me, and which I do not think has hitherto been proposed.
" Let" (he says) " a tall cylindrical vessel of glass containing dry
air be inverted over mercury ; and a portion of the air drawn out by
a syphon, until an equilibrium of pressure is established within and
without ; let a small portion of water, ether, &c. be then thrown up
into the vessel ; the vapor rises and occupies the interstices of the air
as a void ; but what is the obvious consequence 1 * ? " Why," he says,
" the surface of the mercury being now pressed both by the dry air
* New System of Chemical Philosophy, p. 162.
Digitized by
Google
520 On the two great power** [Oct*
and by the new raised vapor, is more pressed within than without,
and an enlargement of the volume of air is unavoidable in order to
restore the equilibrium. Again, in the open air ; suppose there were
mo aqueous atmosphere round the earth, only an azotic one equal to
twenty-three inches of mercury, and an oxygenous one equal to six
inches, " the air being thus perfectly dry, evaporation would com-
mence with great speed. The vapor first formed being constantly
urged to ascend by that below, and as constantly resisted by the
air, must in the first instance dilate the other two atmospheres,
Ac.*"
To this I may object, that in the experiment made on the gases
over mercery, this liquid presses on the aqueous vapor as well as oa
the air ; and therefore both of them can re-act against it, and will de-
press it more than either singly. But in the atmosphere the super-
incumbent atoms of oxygen and nitrogen (which are according to the
theory perfectly neutral towards the vapor), being the compressing
force, cannot press on the vapor, and therefore cannot be re-acted
against.
Hygrometric vapor could not therefore cause the atmosphere to ex-
pand as the vapor does the air in the experiment ; for the former va-
por does not act on the compressing force of the atmosphere as the
latter does on the mercury.
The impact of the vapor against the atoms of the air, would be so
transient and occasional (owing to the minuteness and rarity of the
atoms), that it is unworthy of notice as an opposition to the rise of
the vapor.
Again, Mr. Daltok continues thus : " At last, when all the vapor
has ascended that the temperature will admit of, the aqueous atmas*
phere attains an equilibrium ; it no longer presses upon the other two,
bat upon the earth ; the others return to the original density and pres-
sare throughout." To this I may observe ; — it is very true, that the
others would return to their original density and pressure, but thk
is an admission which itself destroys the supposed analogy of the
experiments, in which, while the vapor is present, the air does not re-
turn to its original density. Mr. D alton continues: " In this case
it ia tine, there would not be any augmentation of volume, when
aqueous vapor was combined with the air ; humidity would increase
the weight of the congregated atmospheres, but diminish their specific
gravity, under a given pressure." To this it may be replied* It is
• D altom' s New System of Chemical Philosophy* p. 162.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1883.] Attraction and Repulsion. 521
certainly true, that when aqueous vapor was added to the air, it would
not (according to this doctrine) increase its volume, hut this is likewise
an admission which would destroy the analogy of the experiment ; and
it even forms an impossibility, with the latter part of the sentence.
How is it possible that hygrometric vapor (which is an addition of
matter) should lessen the specific gravity of the air, and yet not in-
crease its volume ?
The truth, in short, is, that according to this theory, the hygrome-
tric vapor could not increase the volume of the air, but then it must
increase the specific gravity. And since this is contrary to the physi-
cal fact, it is manifest, this theory is inadmissible.
Dr. Thomson has adopted the other form of the hypothesis, that li-
quids pass into vapor solely by their expansive power. He supposes,
that the vapor and air are not neutral (as was once Mr. Dalton's
opinion), but elastic towards each other ; and therefore, that water pass-
es into vapor, although repelled by the air. The following objections
will, I think, shew, that this theory will not afford a satisfactory explana-
tion of the fact. It is plain, that the mutual elasticity of the air and
vapor mu3t be inferior to the elastic force of the vapor of water, other-
wise the latter could not pass into vapor. But the elastic force of
aqueous vapor, at most natural temperatures, is not equal to more, than
-fa of the pressure of the air, which pressure must be supported by the
water, and therefore must press on it with a force far superior to the
elasticity of vapor, at any natural temperature. And even, if water
could pass into vapor, this vapor, being lighter than air, would separate
from it and float above, si ace it repels the air, unless this repulsion be
exceedingly weak.
The experiments of Pictbt and of Db Luc, shewing that evaporation
takes place quite as readily in vacuo, are no proofs, that evaporation in
the air arises solely from the elastic force of water. They only shew
(what no one will deny) that the expanding power in water greatly
aids its evaporation. Water, under the atmosphere, is compressed
with a force 30 times as great as the strength of its vapor (at most
natural temperatures) ; there must then exist an attraction between it
and the air/ to enable it to evaporate as much as it does in vacuo,
when no force is opposing the expansion.
Lastly then, it would appear that the hygrometric vapor must be at-
tracted by the air ; and of an attraction between air and water many
presumptive proofs have been already adduced.
But, according to the law, that attraction and the force of repulsion
vary in the same ratio, if the former be superior to the latter force,
2 T
Digiti
zed by G00gle
522 On the two great powers, [Oct,
between the atoms of air and water when at a distance, it will alio
be superior when they are near to each other. Hence this superior at-
traction would bring the atoms of the two fluids into absolute contact,
much more then, into intimate combination.
But hygrometric vapor i9 in a very weak state of combination. The
mere solution of liquids in gases cannot then be explained, if the two
forces are supposed to vary in the same ratio.
Sixthly. Of the constitution of mixed aerial fluids. The fact that
all gaseous fluids, however different their specific gravities, mix when
placed together, has been already noticed in a former part of this es-
say. I shall now attempt a brief inquiry into the various explanations
proposed, to account for this phenomenon. These have been applied
chiefly to the constitution of the atmosphere ; it being a remarkable in-
stance of a mixture, or solution, of gases in each other.
When treating of attraction, I endeavoured to prove, that between
all gaseous fluids an attraction is exerted, with more or less force, at all
distances.
That the atmospheres of heat round atoms, must endow them with
mutual elasticity, is itself evident ; and is proved by the fact, that
compound atoms are separated by an addition of heat, as is evinced in
the decomposition of bodies by heat.
I shall therefore consider both forces, as operating between all atoms
of gases ; and inquire whether the nature of mixed gases, can be ex-
plained, according to the law. that attraction and the force of repulsion
vary in the same ratio ; supposing, first, that these two forces are equal
between gases ; or secondly, that the repulsion is superior ; or thirdly,
that the attraction is superior.
1. — If between mixed gases, the attraction and force of repulsion
are equal.
Mr. Dalton was formerly of opinion, that mixed gases neither at*
traded nor repelled each other ; and he explained the mixture of gases,
by their own elasticity expanding each, which occupied the whole
apace between the atoms of the other, as if it were a void.
This very ingenious theory, which in many respects would give a
sufficient mechanical explanation of mixed * gases, has, aa is well
known, been the subject of various discussions. Among others, the fol-
lowing objections of Bbrthollbt, and Dr. Murray, are doubtless in-
superable.
• It has been already shewn under a former head, that this theory cannot afford
even a mechanical explanation of the solution of water in the atmosphere,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833 .] Attraction and Repulsion. 523
I shall quote the words of this last author, as being concise. " The
repulsion between the particles of any individual gas, is owing to the
operation of caloric, and is a necessary attribute of the form in which
it exists ; and why should there not be the same repulsion between
the particles of two bodies in this form ? What cause can counteract
it, but a chemical attraction exerted between them ?" "Besides, if there
is no repulsion between the particles of different gases, as Mr.
D alton conceives, what prevents them from entering into combinations,
when they approach within short distances, as they must frequently
do in the internal movements of a mixed elastic fluid ? And if there
exists no mutual attraction, how are they under any circumstances, as,
for example, by compression, or elavation of temperature, brought to
combine ? It may be added, that were Mr. D Alton's hypothesis just,
two elastic fluids ought, in every case, to diffuse themselves in any
space, and mix equally, with the utmost rapidity, each being as a va-
cuum to every other. Yet this facility of mixing is much dependent
on their specific gravity." In many cases it is very gradual*.
Mr. Dalton afterwards did somewhat modify this doctrine. He
supposed, that both attraction and the force of repulsion, operate be-
tween different gases ; but that these forces are so nearly equal, as to
have no effect in producing the raixturef.
Many objections against the former doctrine are thus obviated,
and the spirit of the theory is preserved}.
* Mr. Dalton endeavoured to explain this objection away, by an ingenious
comparison. Page 175. He argues, that, if a ball of lead, which falls through the
sir at any given rate, be divided into numerous atoms, it will descend with far less
velocity (for gravity increases as the cube of the diameter of any sphere, but the
resistance only as the square of the diameter) , and therefore that atoms of air must
meet with very great resistance ; and hence the slowness of the mixture. This is
surely not a just comparison ; for the atoms of lead are not resisted merely by ab-
solute impact against atoms of air themselves, but by the atmospheres of heat
round atoms which fill the void space between them, and must be elastic towards
particles of lead, as towards any other particles. If these atmospheres were re-
moved, and only the atoms of the air itself remained (they being kept asunder by
some inherent repulsive force, which in conformity with the theory in question,
did not operate against the lead), then the lead would probably fall with at
least equal velocity, by being extremely divided ; as its atoms might descend
unobstructed, the air being almost a vacuum to them ; for its own atoms pro-
bably do not occupy more than I9 ^ 9 of the whole space. For this same reason,
two gases ought to mix with the utmost rapidity : the actual impacts of their
atoms themselves being very few. But since they do not mix with such rapidity,
they cannot be mutually inelastic.
t New System of Chemical Philosophy, p. 162.
I Let it be however kept in mind, that this theory cannot explain the evapora-
2 y 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
824 On the two great power*, [Oct.
To this, however, I may state an objection of another nature, and
no less powerful. If these two powers are so equal at every distance,
as to neutralize each other, what must be the effect of the smallest
addition or abstraction of heat ?
In the one case, repulsion becoming the stronger force, the gases
must be totally separated. In the other, the attraction predominating
will bring the atoms into contact, much more then into intimate com-
bination.
2. Secondly, That between mixed gases the repulsive force is
stronger than the attraction. Under this head may perhaps be placed
the last modification of Mr. Dalton's theory. He admits of gases
being mutually repellent, but lays down the following maxim on which
he explains the mixture. " That every species of pure elastic fluid,
has it particles globular and all of a size. But that no two species
agree in the size of their particles, the pressure and temperature being
the same*."
Hence Mr. Dalton argued, that in a pure gas the atoms being all
of a size can remain at rest, as the pressure must be equal through-
out. But when a gas of larger atoms is placed on the former, that
the pressure of their atoms owing to a difference of size will be irre-
gular and unequal ; and that therefore an intestine motion most ensue,
until, the gases having mixed, each can rest on the same base.
Even if the atoms of bodies endowed with their atmospheres of heat
were spherical, it is very questionable whether the above doctrine,
though evincing much ingenuity, be really applicable.
It is difficult to say what would be the effect of spheres of different
sizes pressing on each other. But the atmospheres of heat round atoms
are highly elastic, and hence do not press on each other by single
points only, as inelastic spheres would ; but must assume some form
requisite for general and regular contact ; without mixing. Thus if a
long hollow cylinder placed perpendicularly, and closed at the upper
end, have the air of a few inches from the top heated ; the atoms of
the heated air being enlarged (it might be greatly), and according
to Mr. Dalton's theory, pressing unequally on those below, a mixture
ought to take place. The heated air ought to descend and diffuse it-
self completely among the cold air. There is little doubt, however,
that no such occurrence would take place ; the heated air would con-
tinue above. But let the cylinder be inverted, and the heated air will rise
tion of water, and its lessening the density of the atmosphere. The objections
Stated under that head still remain.
• New System of Chemical Philosophy, p. 189.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] fraction and Repulsion. 525
rapidly ; and, even then, a great part will pass through the cold air
without mixing with it ; as is plain from the fact, that the hottest air
in theatres and heated chambers, is near the ceiling, though it re-
ceives its heat below. Yet, in a mechanical point of view, the vo-
lumes of air of different temperatures, precisely agree with the differ-
ent gases of the same temperature, mentioned in the supposition, as
far as having their atoms of different sizes.
Dr. Thomson rejects both Mr. Dalton's and Bbrthollkt's expla-
nation of mixed gases. The opinion which he holds, may be brought
under this head. In his System of Chemistry he states it in the follow,
ing words : "I conceive, that when two gases are mixed, the parti-
cles of each are beyond the sphere of the affinity of the particles of the
other. If the elasticity be owing to the action of heat, it seems to
follow as a consequence, that different gases must be mutually elastic
towards each other. But I think that the elasticity itself is sufficient
to account for this mixture taking place, without being under the ne-
cessity of having recourse to the hypothesis of Dalton*."
To this doctrine, I may be permitted to object, that since the atoms
of any simple homogeneous gas, cannot be supposed continually to
circulate, if heterogeneous are mutually repellentf* like homogene-
ous atoms, why should a mixture take place between gases which are
of the tame specific gravity ? But between gases of different specific
gravity, much less, then, could any mixture take place 1 Lest it
should be supposed that difference of gravity in gases may depend
merely on their ultimate atoms being of different sizes, but of the
same specific gravity, the atom of oxygen, for instance, being 8 times
as large as the atom of hydrogen, let it be remembered, that although
their ultimate atoms might have the same specific gravity, yet when
endowed, and hence enlarged, with heat, their relative size is greatly
altered, the atom of hydrogen becomes twice the size of that of oxy-
gen, and therefore has only 73th the specific weight.
There would be no more reason for gases, even of the same specific
gravity (supposing such), to undergo a mixture, than for any simple
homogeneous gas to have circulation among its atoms continually ;
and still less should gases of different specific gravity mix ; and should
the latter already be mixed, surely they would in a short time sepa-
rate. It does not appear then, from all that has been stated, if the
* System of Chemistry, last Edition, vol. iii. p. 35.
t By this expression 1 mean of course the gases having an effective repulsion
between them.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
526 On the two great powers, [Oct.
repulsion be superior to, and vary in, the same ratio as the attraction,
that the constitution of mixed gases could be accounted for.
3. Thirdly, That between gases, the repulsive force is inferior to the
attraction.
After having urged the analogy of a solution of a salt in water. Dr.
Murray observes : "It may equally be concluded, that such weak at*
tractions may be exerted between aeriform bodies, — attractions suf-
ficient to counteract their elasticity and difference of specific gravity,
without being sufficiently energetic to cause an intimate combination.
And this principle explains the constitution of the atmosphere. An
attraction of this kind, may be exerted between the particles of oxygen
and nitrogen gases, may counteract the difference of their specific
gravities, and prevent them from separating from each other ; and thus
may be accounted for the two facts, which on former hypotheses ap-
peared incompatible, the uniformity of the composition of atmospheric
air, and its having no properties different from those of the gases of
which it is composed*."
Under a former headf I have shewn, that the explanation which
Dr. Murray has given, of a solution of a salt in water is not correct ;
and therefore the analogy does not hold good between it, as stated,
and a mixture of gases. Although the above passage may appear to ac-
count sufficiently for a mixture of gases, it will not admit of a close
investigation. It will be easy to shew from their writings, that
many authors have reasoned, as if attraction and repulsion were supposed
to vary in the same ratio, though none have expressed a clear and di-
rect opinion concerning them.
If then (according to this law J) there exists "a weak attraction suf-
ficient to counteract the elasticity" of gases at any distance, however
great, it will also be able to counteract the elasticity at any less dis-
tance, however small ; and hence, of necessity, to bring the atoms of one
gas into contact with those of the other ; before which an intimate
combination would take place.
Supposing then the repulsive force, operating between gases, to be
weaker than their attraction, and to vary in the same ratio with it, the
mixture of gases could not be explained, since a perfect combination
would ensue on their being presented to each other.
• System of Chemistry, vol. ii. p. 41.
f " The solution of solids in liquids."
X That the two forces vary in the same ratio.
Digitized by
Google
1 833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 527
Part IT. — Division 2.
The minute inquiry which I have endeavoured to pursue into the
laws of repulsion, I trust has shewn, that this force cannot vary either
in a less, or the same, inverse ratio of the distance as the attraction.
That this inquiry has not hitherto been strictly pursued, by the
ablest writers on chemical philosophy, is evident from the numerous,
and even opposite doctrines, which have been laid down to explain the
various states, and degrees of combination, in which bodies exist ; and
also from numerous passages throughout their writings. Thus the
following quotation from the great Lavoisier will shew at once, that
(from want of a sufficient investigation) he reasoned as if the two
opponent forces to each other, attraction, and the repulsion from heat,
varied in the same ratio.
4t We have already seen," observes this eminent writer, " that the
eame body becomes solid or fluid, or aeriform, according to the quanti-
ty of caloric, by which it is penetrated ; or more strictly, accordingly at
the repulsive force exerted by the caloric, is equal to, stronger, or weak-
er than, the attraction of the particles of the bodies it acts upon."
And again he writes : " But if these two powers only existed, bodies
would become liquid, at an indivisible degree of the thermometer, and
would almost instantaneously pass, from the solid state of aggregation,
to that of aeriform elasticity. Thus water, for instance, at the very
instant when it ceases to be ice, would begin to boil, and would be
transformed into an aeriform fluid, having its particles scattered indefi-
nitely through the surrounding space*."
And iu another place, he further states that, " without the atmos-
pheric pressure we should not have any proper aeriform fluids ; because,
the moment the force of attraction is overcome by the repulsive power
of the caloric, the particles of bodies would separate themselves inde-
finitely, having nothing to give limits to their expansion ; unless their
own gravity might collect them together, so as to form an atmos~
pheret."
It is only a want of due reflection on the laws of the two powers,
that could have permitted the first of these passages to exist in the
work of such an author. How could the attraction in a solid be great-
er than the repulsion, without bringing the atoms together ? That they
are not in contact, he himself has proved J. That the other statements
• Elements of Chemistry, (translated by Kirb,) p. 55.
f Elements, p. 56.
2 Elements, p. 50.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
528 On the two great power*, [Oct.
might be true, it is evidently necessary, that repulsion be supposed to
vary in the same, or a less, inverse ratio of the distance, than the at-
traction ; either of which has been above proved impossible.
Another author of great merit appears to have written with the same
impression. Mr. Dalton argued against Bbrthollbt, that if the mix-
ture of gases depended on an attraction exerted between them, they
ought to enter into perfect combination*. This is a just objection, if
repulsion be supposed to vary in the same, or a less, inverse ratio of the
distance, than the attraction. And neither Bbrthollbt, nor Dr. Mur-
ray, had shewn, that either of these suppositions is impossible ; nor
did they answer this objection of Mr. Dalton's as if they were
aware, that the two forces could not vary in the same ratio.
Again, in explaining the nature of mixed gases, Mr. Dalton (as
has been already observed) considered the attraction, and force of re-
pulsion, between the atoms of the fluids so nearly equal, that neither
force affected the mixture at allf. But then it is necessary to suppose
(to the end that neither may affect the mixture of the gases) in addi-
tion to the two forces being equal, that they should also vary in tie
tame ratio.
For, did they not, one of these forces beyond, or within a certain
point, becoming the greater of the two, must operate J.
It would be easy to shew, by quotations from all authors, that none
have hitherto pursued the inquiry spoken of above ; but it is sufficient
ta have proved this fact, from the writings of two of the ablest philo-
sophers.
After having maturely considered the various doctrines, and theo-
ries, which are taught in the statics of chemistry ; I became persuaded,
that several of them were far from satisfactory ; among them in parti-
cular, the doctrines, upon which I have been remarking. And while
endeavouring to investigate the cause of their insufficiency, an expla-
nation presented itself to me, which appeared tree from all the difficul-
ties, and objections, to which former theories are liable ; and which
will account for the permanency of all states, and combinations of
bodies; namely, —
That the force of repulsion, with which heat endows atoms, varies
in a greater inverse ratio of the distance than their attraction.
• Manchester Memoirs, vol. v. part 2.
t New System of Chemical Philosophy, p. 162.
X Vide Repulsion varying in a less ratio than attraction, and also the following
law.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 529
Let us apply this law,
First. — To the constitution of solids.
Let there be a liquid between the atoms of which, owing to a loss
of heat, the attraction has become so far superior to the repulsion, as
to bring them to that distance, at which solidity naturally subsists.
And, since the attraction may be conceived to vary as the inverse
square of the distance, and repulsion varies in a higher inverse ratio,
let this ratio be the inverse cube of the distance, and let the atoms of
the liquid be supposed to have been at any distance 4 from each other,
and let the following diagram represent the opponent forces operating
between any two atoms, A and B, at different distances.
Distances. 12 3 4 5 6
Attraction, 576 144 64 36 23 &c.
A* »B # B
Repulsion, 1728 216 64 27 13.8 &c*
Here it is plain, since between the two atoms at distance 4 from
each other, the attraction is 36, but the repulsion only 27, that these
atoms must approach, and will come to distance 3, where both forces
are equal, each being 64. The atoms of the body, which is now a
solid, cannot come nearer ; as at any distance within this, there is an
effective repulsion operating, which must keep them at this distance,
unless, by abstracting or adding more heat, the point of equilibrium
is transferred to a smaller, or greater distance. Thus will be consti-
tuted a true mechanical stable equilibrium, and thus the nature of
solids, and their contraction, and expansion, are at once explained.
Secondly. — To the constitution of liquids.
A true explanation of the constitution of liquids, which has hitherto
never been clearly given, appears to be afforded by this doctrine.
In applying this law to the constitution of liquids, a third power
most be taken into consideration, namely, the pressure of the atmos-
phere.
Let it be supposed, that these forces have brought the atoms of a
gaseous fluid into the liquid state ; and let the following represent all
the forces operating upon any two atoms, A and B, of the liquid
at various distances-)*.
• It is evident that these series are not supposed to represent the real forces,
hot are merely intended to illustrate the doctrine more clearly. The diagram re-
presents the forces acting from one atom only, the relative power being the same,
at if the forces of both atoms had been represented.
t Lest when a vapor is passing to the liquid state, any one should attribute the
cause solely to atmospheric pressure overpowering the expansive force of the
vapor, I may instance the condensation of hygrometric vapor in the air, on a fall
2 z
Digiti
zed by G00gle
2
3
4
5
6
7
4
9
16
25
36
49
56
113.7
64
40.9
28.4
20.8
530 On the two great powers, [Oct,
DUtaneet. 1
Pres. of the air, 1
Attraction, 1024
A* B» *
Repulsion, 5120 640 189.6 80 40.9 23.7 14.8* '
Here it is manifest, that both the mutual attraction of the atoms,
and the pressure of the air, are tending to compress the fluid.
If the former force only operated, the atoms would be at distance 5
from each other ; as there the attraction and repulsion would balance
each other, and constitute a stable equilibrium. But since the latter
force (pressure), operates on the liquid, the atoms are brought nearer
to each other, to distance 4 (e. g ) where the attraction and pressure,
amounting together, to a force (16 + 64=) 80, are balanced by the repul-
sive force, which at that distance is also 80. The point of stable equi-
librium is thus removed to a smaller distance, where, as long as the
same forces operate on the atoms, they can neither approach nor recede
of themselves. Again as, in a liquid, the atoms are pressed wit him the dis-
tance, at which the attraction alone balances the repulsion, by a force
(the pressure of the air), the effect of which is merely to keep the
liquid within a certain bulk, it is manifest, that this external force
does not operate towards keeping any two atoms in particular near to
each other. Hence the atoms may move on each other, as long as
others supply their place. And thus the peculiar character of the
liquid state may be explained.
The remarkable property of a liquid, of collecting itself into drops
under certain circumstances, may also be readily explained by this law.
The pressure of the air can have no more effect in forming liquids
into spherical drops, than into drops of any other form. The only
force, which can effect this, is the attraction of the atoms, which, as
in the diagram, though weaker than the repulsion between the neigh-
bouring atoms A and B, must become the more powerful force be-
tween any, but neighbouring atoms ; and being the more powerful
of temperature. Atmospheric pressure can only act on this vapor (whose atoms
are perfectly intermingled with its own) so far as it is endeavouring to expand the
air, and can only increase the density of the vapor, until the elasticity of the at-
mosphere itself prevents its own atoms from approaching nearer to each other, or,
in other words, until the vapor is of the same density as the natural density of the
air ; the force therefore, which in this case reduces the vapor into a liquid, must
be an effective attraction, and in part the gravity of the vapor.
• The first of these forces, the pressure of the air, varies as the square of the
distance of the atoms. The second, the attraction, varies inversely as the square
of their distance. The third, the repulsion, varies in any higher inverse ratio of
the distance, e. g. inversely as the cube of the distance.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 531
force, it collects several atoms into a drop, under favorable circum-
stances.
The gradual expansions and contractions of liquids can also be
explained by this law. The distance of the equilibrium is gradually
increased, or lessened, by an addition, or abstraction of heat ; and
whatever difference should exist between the forces at any one dis-
tance, a stable equilibrium would be formed at some other, where the
atoms would be fixed. The doctrine then, that the force of repulsion
from heat, varies in a greater inverse ratio of the distance, than the
attraction, affords a happy explanation of the nature and constitution
of liquids, and also of their gradual contractions and expansions, with
variations of temperature.
Thirdly. — To the constitution of simple gaseous fluids.
It has been above remarked, that the pressure of the atmosphere is the
chief force opposing the repulsion, in a gaseous fluid. But it has also
been shewn, under a former head*, that atoms in a gaseous state at-
tract each other. And this force, though certainly much inferior to
the pressure, must aid the operation of the latter.
Let all the forces operating from any atom A towards any other
atom B, of a simple gas be represented by the following diagram :
DU. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 19 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 90
Pr. 1 4 9 16 25 36 49 64 81 100 121 144 109 196 825 856 989 384 361 400
Att. 648 168 78 40,5 86 18 13,4 10,1 8 6,4 5,3 4,4 3,8 3,3 8,8 8,58 8,84 8 1,8 1,68
A« B« B* . •
Rep. 11664 1458 438 188 93^54 34 88,8 16 11,6 9,64 6,7 5,3 4,8 3,4 8,9 9,37 8 1,7 1,45
In this case, the atoms of the gaseous fluid will be stationary at dis-
. tance 6, where the repulsion, being 54, is equal to the united attrac-
tion and pressure, (18+36) which are also 54. On removing the at-
mospheric pressure there being a powerful effective repulsion, the
atoms must separate greatly, unto that point at which, from the re-
pulsion varying in a higher ratio than the attraction, a stable equi-
librium is established. In the above instance, this is at distance 18,
where the attraction and repulsion being each 2, the gaseous fluid will
expand no further, although all external pressure is removed.
To this, I am aware, it may be objected, that the air in the receiver
of an air pump expands without limit, as long as a portion is removed,
and, therefore, that the attraction cannot be equal to the repulsive force
at any distance of the atoms.
This however it will be easy to shew is no objection. In proportion
as the air expands in the receiver, so does its tendency to part with
* The distance to which attraction is exerted.
2 z 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
532 On the two great powers, [Oct.
heat grow less, (i. e. it falls in temperature,) and hence it rapidly re-
ceives heat forced into it from the vessel and external air. The truth
of this is evident from the fact, that, during the experiment, the rare-
fied air at first falls in temperature, hut afterwards rises to the same
temperature as the external air ; and if the exhaustion be again con-
tinued, the air again expands, falls in temperature, and therefore again
receives heat ; and, as long as heat is forced into it, so long must it
expand, and the point of stable equilibrium be removed to a greater
distance. Were it possible to procure a receiver impermeable by heat,
there is every reason to believe, that the expansion of the contained air
would terminate after several increments of volume ; for it cannot be
supposed, that, on the removal of pressure, a gaseous fluid would expand
without limit, unless the repulsive force, operating between its atoms,
be considered to vary either in the same or in a less inverse ratio
of the distance, than their attraction ; and since it has been already
shewn, that either of these cannot be a law of the repulsion in bodies,
in any degree of combination, or in any other state, analogy will show,
that neither of them can be a law of the repulsion of atoms in the
gaseous state.
Another objection which may be presented, is, the apparent fact, that
the effective repulsion in gases, varies inversely as the distance of the
atoms ; for, according to the doctrine which I have laid down, since the
actual repulsive, force is considered as varying in a higher inverse ratio
of the distance than the attraction, and since the attraction is supposed to
vary as the inverse square of the distance, the effective* repulsion ought
to vary in a higher inverse ratio of the distance than the inverse square ;
and not therefore only inversely as the distance, as it appears to do. To
this I may answer, that, as I have before remarked, an ingress of heat
takes place, on removing pressure from the air, and an egress on increasing
the compressing force. This reception of heat on the one hand, and lots
of heat on the other, must cause the effective repulsion apparently to
vary in a much lower inverse ratio of the distance, than it would, did
the air always possess the same quantity of heat ; and from this cause
Mr. Boyle's experiments, and the doctrine I have laid down, contain
nothing contradictory.
In like manner, in the case of a body gravitating towards a planet,
the force varies inversely as the square of the distance from the cen-
tre. But, by varying the quantity of matter in the planet, in some
* The excess of the repulsion, over the attraction j the only force which, in a
gaseous fluid, admits of measurement.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 533
direct ratio of the distance, its attraction might be made to vary in any
less ratio than the inverse square.
The reader will perceive, that the ratio of the attraction of the pla-
net, in the one case, and the doctrine I have laid down, of the ratio of
the repulsion in the other, were both disturbed by the absolute forces
varying. In the former case, by the quantity of matter in the planet,
in the latter by the quantity of heat in the air subjected to experiment
being constantly changed.
And moreover, I may observe, it would appear from later experi-
ments than Mr. Botls's, as is well known, that the elasticity of the
air varies in a somewhat greater ratio, than the density, and there-
fore that the effective repulsion varies in a higher inverse ratio, than
inversely as the distance.
The following quotation from an author in Dr. Rebs's Cyclopaedia*
will strongly corroborate the view3 I have taken of the constitution of
gases. After some former remarks he observes : " Thus also in high de-
grees of rarefaction, the elasticity is decreased rather more than in ex-
act proportion to the weight or density of the air ; whence it may be
concluded, that there is a limit to its rarefaction, or expansion, so
that it cannot be expanded to infinity."
This observation, which is founded on actual experiments of philo-
sophers (and which appears to me a just one) is exactly conformable to
the doctrine I have laid down. This doctrine therefore (that the force
of repulsion, from heat, varies in a greater inverse ratio of the distance
than the attraction) which must be admitted to explain the situation of
of atoms, in other states of bodies also, I think, elucidates clearly the
nature of gaseous elasticity.
Fourthly. — To the solution of solids in liquids.
In applying this law to the solution of a solid in a liquid, it is pro-
per to take into consideration all the forces, which can operate either
for, or against the combination.
In a saline, or any other solution, of a solid in a liquid, there are at
least, five forces, which must greatly affect the solution. Two of
these operate in favor of the solution, and three against it ; and in pro-
portion as the former forces exceed the latter so will the combination
be the more intimate.
When a salt is immersed in water, it is true, that the cohesion and
greater specific gravity of the salt are opposed to the affinity between
the water and salt, but these (which as far as I am aware are alone
* Article Air.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
584 On the two great power*, [Oct.
mentioned by Bbethollbt and Dr. Murkat) are not the only forces
which affect the solution. There are two others, which perhaps have
quite as much influence on the extent of the combination ; namely, the
repulsive force, operating between the atoms of the salt, and the re-
pulsive force between these atoms, and those of water*. It is this last
force, which prevents the most perfect combination from ensuing. It
has however, been shewn, under a former head, that if this force, (vix.
the repulsive force operating between the solid and liquid) varied in
the same ratio as their attraction, it certainly could not prevent the
atoms of the former, from being brought into absolute contact, with
those of the latter.
But, admitting this repulsive force to vary in a higher inverse ratio
of the distance, than the attraction, the nature of the solution may be
clearly explained in the following manner.
It is plain, that the forces opposed to the solution, are the cohesion,
the greater specific gravity of the solid, and that repulsive force which
must operate between its atoms, and those of the water. That the
forces favoring the solution, are the repulsive force operating between
the atoms of the salt itself, and their affinity for those of the water. If
when the salt is immersed in the water, the two latter forces united,
are more powerful than the three former united, the water must begin
to act on the salt. As the atoms of salt separate from each other, the
repulsive force operating between them, which is one of the forces fa-
voring the solution, at last loses its effect, owing to its varying in a
greater inverse ratio of the distance than the cohesive attraction of the
salt, aod therefore becoming weaker than the cohesive attraction.
Again, as the atoms of salt and water approach each other, the re-
pulsive force operating between these two bodies, though formerly
much inferior to their affinity, owing to its varying in a higher ratio .
becomes at last, at a certain point, equal to the affinity. And could the
atoms of the salt be brought still nearer to those of the water, the re-
pulsion for the same reason would grow superior to the affinity. It is
manifest then, as the atoms of salt and water cannot approach nearer
to each other than the point, at which the two powers are equal, that
the atoms must rest at this distance from each other : for there the
two forces form a stable equilibrium.
And, since the atoms of liquids are endowed with greater atmospheres
of heat, than those of solids, this superior repulsive force in them may
* The repulsive force and attraction operating between the atoms of the
themselves need not be mentioned : as the doctrine may be explained without tak-
ing thtm into consideration.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Attraction and Repulsion. 585
cause the point of stable equilibrium, between the atoms of the solid and
the fluid, to exist at a greater distance, than between the atoms of two
solids when in combination, and hence the latter combinations are ge-
nerally much more intimate than the former.
The solution of solids in liquids and the weak resulting combination,
are therefore satisfactorily explained by this doctrine ; which considers
the force of repulsion from heat as varying in a greater inverse ratio
than the attraction.
Fifthly. — To the solution of liquids in gases and in the atmosphere.
Under a former head, I have endeavoured to prove, that the hygro-
metric vapor of the atmosphere must exist in that state, partly by its
own elasticity, and partly by an attraction exerted on it by the air. But
it was also proved, that if the repulsion of atoms varies in the same
ratio, as the ratio of attraction, the atoms of water would come into ac-
tual contact with those of the air ; which cannot be the case, as hygro-
metric vapor is in the very weakest state of combination with the air.
The solution of vapors in gases, without an intimate combination ensu-
ing, may however, I think, be readily explained by the present doctrine.
e o o o Let a liquid A be placed under a column of
fe y^ teffi^JffirfA *T ** B ' which is Pressing on it with the
usual force of the atmosphere. It is plain that
die layer of air nearest the liquid must press on the latter with the
whole force of the atmosphere which it supports. But the particles of air
are far more distant from each other than those of water ; probably
ten times as far. Let us suppose this to be their relative distance.
Every tenth particle only of the liquid will be pressed on perpendicularly
by the lower stratum of air ; and the condensation of the circumambient
heat of this stratum will be so much greater perpendicularly under
each particle of air, than obliquely between them, that it will re-act
more upon the water directly under those particles, and press it into
dimples, as in the figure. The ridges between these dimples will be
pressed on laterally by the elastic medium of each aerial particle, but
with little force downwards.
All the aerial particles above this lowest stratum must be at a great-
er distance from those of the water, than the point at which the forces
operating between them and the water, are equal. And, being at a great-
er distance than this point, they must attract the water with more force
than they repel it, according to the present postulate. If then the
united effective attractions of all atoms of air above the lowest stratum,
together with the tendency to expand in the water itself, be superior to
the gravity of the atoms of water situated in the several ridges, the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
536 On the two great power$ 9 [Oct.
latter mast rise into vapor, and so also most those which supply their
place. And the atoms of water, as they rise, will necessarily become
intermingled with those of the air, and will be detained among them by
their attraction for them. But, since the repulsion varies in a greater
inverse ratio of the distance than the attraction it will form a stable equi-
librium with it, at a certain point, within which it will prevent the
atoms of water from approaching those of the air ; that is, prevent an
intimate combination from ensuing.
Thus is explained the fact, that an attraction between the air and
water may favor the transition of the latter into vapor, and yet not
bring the atoms of water into intimate combination with those of
the air, a fact, which I do not think can be explained by any other
doctrine.
Sixthly. — To the constitution of muted gases.
The minute investigation into the various theories proposed to ex-
plain the nature of a gaseous mixture, which I have endeavoured to
pursue, has shewn, that each of them is liable to one or more insuper-
able objections.
It appears to me that this phenomenon also, may be explained by
the application of the present doctrine.
Having first stated the theorem, I shall endeavour to demonstrate it.
If a cylindrical vessel, of any given length, be filled with hydrogen
gas, and inverted (so as to fit closely) over a similar vessel filled with
carbonic acid gas ; part of the former gas, although of far less speci-
fic gravity than the latter, will descend, and part of the latter will as-
cend, until the atoms of hydrogen gas, are perfectly mixed with those
of carbonic acid gas, and, when mixed, they will not enter into com-
bination.
This may be demonstrated in the following manner.
Since the repulsive force, operating from the atoms of the one gas
towards those of the other, varies in a greater inverse ratio of the
distance, than their attraction, it must form with this force, at a certain
point, a stable equilibrium. Since when the hydrogen gas is placed
on the carbonic acid gas, the lowermost atoms, of the former, press
upon the upper stratum, of the latter, these contiguous strata, of the
two gases, must be brought within the point of equilibrium, between
their attraction and mutual elasticity; and must therefore have an
effective repulsion for each other.
But, excepting the contiguous strata, all the atoms of the one fluid
must be farther from those of the other, than the point of stable equi-
librium, and must therefore, exert an effective attraction for them.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1893.] Attraction and Repulsion. - 537
If then their mutual effective attraction be superior to their differ-
ence of gravity, atoms of hydrogen gas must descend, and of carbonic
acid ascend until the mixture is complete. When mixed however, no
atom of the former can approach nearer to one of the latter gas,
than the distance at which the forces, operating between them, form a
stable equilibrium : for within that distance an effective repulsion ex-
ists. This distance, owing to the great quantity of heat round gaseous
atoms, will be so considerable, that the atoms of the two fluids cannot
produce on each other those changes, attendant on combination.
From which, the gases must be considered, as merely having their
atoms detained approximate to each other, by their mutual attrac-
tion.
In like manner, may the constitution of the atmosphere be elucidat-
ed ; — its consisting of gases in a state of mixture, though of different
specific gravities, and yet not entering into intimate combination with
each other.
Conclusion.
The inquiry into the law of the repulsive force, with which heat en-
dows atoms* namely, of that compound repulsion resulting from the op*
posed action of the two ultimate powers of heat, themselves, which it
has been my endeavour to pursue with such minuteness, as the length
of this essay would permit, has, I trust shewn, that this power must
vary in a higher inverse ratio of the distance, than the attraction.
By way of illustration, I have imagined this ratio to be the inverse
cube, that of attraction being the inverse square of the distance;
bat I would by no means be understood as intending to enforce this as
the actual ratio. Since (as has been above remarked) the actual ratio
of this compound repulsion, it is probable, differs in bodies according
to the force of their attraction for the particles of heat, it will perhaps
never be possible to ascertain it exactly in any individual case. But
the limit, which has been laid down, is of the highest importance, since
(as I trust) I have deduced from it a simple doctrine, which accounts
for the stable residence of atoms at various distances from each other*
constituting in nature, solids and liquids, combinations of solids wit n
liquids,, liquids with aerial fluids, and mixtures of aerial fluids with each
other ; and without which none of these phenomena can be accounted
for, but they may even be demonstrated impossible.
3a
Digiti
zed by G00gle
538 Iron Suspension Bridge aver the [Oct.
IV.— Iron Suspension Bridge over the Beosi River, near Sagar, Central
"* India. PL XVI.
We take peculiar pleasure in bringing to the notice of our readers the
completion of this work of art, because it has been constructed entire-
ly out of the resources of the country, and being the first attempt at
such an adaptation of native material and native workmanship, more
than ordinary credit is due to the skUful engineer who planned and
executed it, and who moreover, from his long residence in India, could
have acquired only a theoretical acquaintance with the system of sus-
pension bridges introduced within these few years, and now so rapidly
spreading, in Europe.
The bridge was erected at the suggestion of T. H. Maddocb. Esq.
agent to the Governor General in the Sagar and Nerbada territories,
upon the plans and under the sole superintendence of Major Duncan
Pbssgravb, mint and assaymaster at Sagar.
Engineers in Europe, accustomed to find every thing provided to
their wants, can have little idea of the personal labour which devolves
upon their brethren of the craft in this country, where to the duties of
architect and draughtsman are not only added those of builder and over-
seer, but the whole of the subordinate trades of the brick-maker, mason,
carpenter, and iron-manufacturer ; in a climate too where a trifling
exertion produces exhaustion ; and incautious exposure, fever or death :
and where the tools must be made and the hands that employ them
instructed ab initio. We will not say that the native mistrees and
labourers are not capable of learning or of working well, especially
in upper Hindustan ; the bridge before us is a sufficient refutation of
that common and indolent remark : but all will agree that a peculiar
talent is requisite to manage, instruct, and drill them ; and this faculty
is possessed by Major Prbsobavb in an extraordinary degree. The
secret of his influence may be easily traced ; — he is a workman him-
self : he wields the hammer ; makes and works the lathe ; surveys
the ground ; searches the mines ; smelts the ore ; and has all the skill
of contriving with the simplest means*, for which the people of this
country are themselves so conspicuous.
The Sagar bridge may indeed be called an experiment to try the
resources of the country ; — to see whether the iron could be manu-
factured into bars of a quality fit for bridges;— and whether these
bridges could be made by native workmen who had never wrought or
* As an illustration of this remark, we refer to the description of the rollers oa
which the chains rest.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833 . ] Beosi River, near Saga r, Central India. 539
even seen iron of the dimensions required. The question has been
satisfactorily answered ; and even in point of economy, notwithstand-
ing the numberless extra expences incident to a first undertaking, and
the distance, eleven miles, of the work from the yard at Sagar, the
bridge has been pronounced cheaper than those in Calcutta made with
English materials : while of its design and execution no higher
encomium can be given than the assurance of the visiting engineer.
Major Irvine, that he had seen nothing superior to it in Europe. The
Governor General is stated to have expressed equal satisfaction after in-
spection, and only to have regretted that so noble a bridge should be
wasted upon so remote a locality !
We have with permission taken a reduced copy of the elevation and
plan, lithographed by M. Tassin, to accompany a private Memoir of
the Beosi bridge. The latter authentic source supplies us with the
following particulars of the work.
The foundation was laid in April, 1 828, and the roadway opened to
the public in June, 1830.
The iron of which it is composed is entirely the produce of the Sa-
gar district. When the bridge was projected, it was still in the state
of ore in the mines, whence it was extracted, smelted and made into
irregular small lumps, in the common native fashion. The working
of these erode impure masses into good bars of the requisite dimensions
was a matter of very great labour and difficulty.
The bridge is 200 feet in span between the points of suspension.
The piers, resting on the solid rock, six feet under the low level of
of the river, are 42 feet high to the roadway ; being elevated two
feet above the ordinary surface of the country : they have a base of
32 feet by 22£, decreasing upwards in front one in five, and on the sides
one in eight feet ; which gives on the road a superficies of 21 by
14 feet for each pier. On the sides are wing walls or abutments, running
back into the bank 26 feet.
The pillars, or rather arches, of suspension have a base of 21 by 12
feet, admitting a roadway of 9 feet broad. The arches are 15 feet high,
and are faced with accurately wrought stone. The points of suspension
are elevated 22 feet 4£ inches from the road : the pillars have a total
height of 33 feet, and the whole masonry from the rock, 68 feet. The
piers and abutments contain 82,488 cubic feet of masonry ; the arched
standards and bridge parapets, 8900 i in all 91,388 cubic feet.
The platform measures 200 feet in length by 12 feet broad, and is
calculated to weigh, with the chains, 52 J tons. Supposing the bridge
crowded with men, at 69 lbs. per buperficial foot all over the platform*
3 a 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
640 Iron Suspension Bridge over the [Oct.
the whole weight would be 120 tons, whence it is calculated that the
tension to be sustained at each point of suspension would be 85.632
tons.
The suspending chains- are 12 in number, arranged in pairs, three
pair on either side, two feet above one another. They pass over rollers
one foot in diameter, and are securely moored in masonry 16 feet be-
low the surface of the road. The back chains are 101 feet long, rising
at an angle of 27 degrees. The angle of the catenarian at the roller
is 16° with the horizon : the versed sine at the centre of the curve is
14 feet 3 inches.
The twelve main chains are of round bar iron, one and half inch
diameter, bolted together in pairs. They are from 15 to 15.5 feet
long, and so arranged that the vertical rods may fall from the joints
of each chain alternately in parallel lines five feet apart. The descend-
ing chains are square bars measuring l£ inch on the side : their lower
ends pass through 24 conically wrought stones, below which they
are capped and keyed. (Figs. 1 and 2.)
The connecting links of the chains, and indeed all the bolt holes
in the bars, and the drops, are bored out of the solid iron, and broach-
ed to fit the bolts accurately. (Figs. 5, 6.) None were punched at die
forge. The bolts are 1^ inch in diameter, and are secured by rings, or
washers and keys. Two adjusting links with iron wedges are fitted to
each chain, close to the masonry landward, to regulate its curve and dip.
(Figs. 7, 9.)
The method of constructing the rollers is thus described in the
memoir :
" The iron rollers 12 in number weigh about one cwt. each. They are not solid,
but are composed each of about 28 separate pieces of wrought iron, viz. a centre
tube or box for the axle over which thick rings are driven ; and an exterior drum be-
tween which and the inner ringed tube, flattened bars, as spokes, are driven. The
centres were broached out clean and true, and cylindrical axles 3.1 inch in diame-
ter were turned to fit ; the ends of these axles rest on broad thick iron bearings
mounted on very strong and solid frames of timber well bolted, clamped and block-
ed together, covered with pitch cement and secured in the masonry of the pillars."
(Figs 7, 8.)
The platform was made in a different mode from those of our Calcutta
bridges, as will be understood by the following explanation :
" From the short links set between the centre plates of the shackles (of the main
chains), are suspended alternately from each tier, 74 vertical round rods one
inch in diameter connected to a short link (Fig. 6) by a one-inch round belt
passing through it and the socket At the upper end of the bar ; at their lower
ends the rods have eyes, through which doubled loops of iron pass (3, 4) lor ana-
taining the flat bars or girders, set on their edges and proceeding from one end to J
the other on both sides of the bridge.
Digitized by
Google
fee^- A* oin-
fte/fiH-XV,
zed by GoOgle
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Beosi River, near Sugar, Central India. 541
" The flat bark, four inches broad by \ inch thick and in lengths of fifteen feet,
are joined together at their ends by nicely turned bolts passing through bored holes
two inches in diameter ; they are adjusted in their height by double wedges,
resting on holders that connect the sides of the loops together. The girders are
also adjustable in their lengths, the bars that enter the masonry hare their ends
made broader than the rest of the bars, in which are long openings 2 inches broad
to receive wedges. (Fig. 10, 11.)
" Eight timbers in an upright position are set in the masonry of the pillars, having
upright grooves or spaces cut through them, and faced with thick plates of iron ;
through two of these beams each end bar passes, and may be wedged on either side
of the timber towards the land as occasion may require > thus is the whole length
of girder drawn more or less to either end of the bridge, and also rendered exceed-
ingly tight and steady. The grooves in the timbers towards the river, being about
four inches longer than the breadth of the bars, permit them to adapt themselves
to their proper directions when drawn lengthwise by the wedges acting against the
landward beams ; by these means the bars have sufficient play to adapt themselves
to the motion of the platform, and all jerks at the pillars are obviated.
" Thirty-seven double joists twelve feet long are, (having their ends notched be-
low for the purpose,) laid on the girders : their centres five feet apart correspond
exactly with the vertical rods that pass through them ; the joists are composed
each of two cheeks a foot in depth and three inches thick, separated at intervals
by four blocks of wood of the same height and thickness ; all firmly put together
with bolts, screws and nuts : two cleats are nailed to each end of the joist on their
under sides, whose ends fit flat against the girder and keep all steady.
" Planks sixteen feet in length running longitudinally, each plank stretching rove
three spaces, and regularly disposed as to their joints, are spiked down on the joists >
in a direction across these and upon them other planks are spiked down, their lengths
being the same as the breath of the platform. The planks are all imbedded in a com-
position of resin boiled in linseed oil, which in laying on is mixed with ashes.
The lower planks are three, and the upper ones two and half inches thick : they are
only six inches broad to prevent warping, and have two strong square-headed spikes
passing through them near their edges, at every crossing of the upper over the
lower planks : their points are clinched below the platform, to accomplish which
16,370 spikes, weighing a ton and a half, were used ; thus the platform has been
rendered extremely strong and firm.
"The better to secure the sides of the platform and the ends of the timbers from
the weather, a cornice or moulding of wood is nailed along the outside.
" The hand-rail is trussed, and consists of iron pillars or stanchions ; diagonal
braces of iron ; and a stout wooden rail running from end to end of the platform :
the whole put together with screws aud nuts, and adjusting screws for setting up
or tightening the diagonal braces whenever required. (Fig. 10.)
" The rise in the platform is (as before stated, nine inches, but the curve of
the hand-rail is only three inches, to effect which the stanchions that support the
rail are of varying lengths. The rail being four feet six inches above the platform
at its connection with the masonry, but only four feet in the centre of the bridge."
The following are the weights of the chains, rods, and materials of ,
the platform:
Digitized by
Google
452 Additional Note on the Climate of Nagpwr. [Oct.
Iron* Wmi.
Totu. TImm. Ifeaa.
6 double main chains, joints and bolts 8.5
74 vertical rods, with joints, bolts, &c 1.385
Flat bars and bolts, 1 .726
37 double joists, blocks, cleats, &c 6.190
Bolts, nuts, screws, stanchion plates, flat rings, &c. Ac.
from beams 0383
Planking 1 .124 cubic feet, sal wood, 27.000
Iron spikes, 16370 for planking, 1.467
Iron railing trussed, screws, nuts, &c 1314
Wood for the hand rail, 52 cubic feet, 1 .479
376 feet of cornice to the platform ■ 1.531
14.775 36.200 50.976
Composition of resin and oil, .' 1.745
Total weight hung between the pillars, tons. 52.720
V. — Additional Note on the Climate of Nagpur. By J. Prinsep,
Sec. As. Soc. Src.
In the May number of the Journal were published the results of Dr.
Gbddes' Meteorological Observations made in 1831-32 at Kampti, in
the neighbourhood of Nagpur, which, as observed by the author, were
in some degree deficient for the want of a barometer ; the sympiesometer
which took the place of that instrument shews by the registers a con-
stant deterioration from the increase of the column of air*, which ren-
ders its indication of comparative inutility in accurate calculations. I am
now fortunately able to supply the deficiency, of barometrical data, from
the copious registers kept by Dr. Wtlib at Nagpur, between the years
1820 and 1830, (with some intermissions,) of which that gentleman
was so kind as to permit me to take copies ere he proceeded to Europe.
Dr. Wylib's barometer was filled by himself without boiling. A
note in his diary in 1820 states, that it stood 0.235 lower that some
other tube (Dr. Votbbt's ? ) with which it was compared. In Febru-
ary 1822, the tube was cleaned twice, and fresh mercury added: in May
of the same year it was again cleaned. On each of these occasions, the
height of the mercurial column was elevated more than a tenth of an
• This is a fault in the sympiesometer which might perhaps be remedied by
making the oil-cistern higher, so that the oil should on an average stand on the
same level in the two legs of the inverted syphon. In an instrument in my poisci
•ion after one year, in 1822, the index point had fallen 0.3 inch below the baro-
meter ; in 1823, 0.5 inch ; in 1825,0.8 ; and now, in 1833, I find it 1J8
inches : Dr. Gbddbs, according to his register, must have followed the same rate
of deterioration : the level in mine is now nearly even with the reservoir.
Digitized by
Google
1833.]
Additional Note on the Climate of Nagpur.
543
inch for the time, proving that air or moisture had previously insinuated
itself into the vacuum. In November, 1824, a note occurs, at Bombay : —
" add .200 to make barometer agree with one afterwards used and found
to be more correct." The change of instrument was made in January,
1826 . the new tube was again cleaned and repaired in June and in No-
vember* : it broke in May, 1829, and was replaced by one standing full
.200 lower. These circumstances were pointed out by Dr. Wtlib, as
depriving his tables of that measure of exactitude required for deducing
the altitude of Nagpur barometrically ; but with the precaution of aug-
menting the whole of the indications up to September, 1823, by two- tenths
of an inch, and proceeding in the same manner with May — September of
1826, and with new barometer of June, 1829 ; all of which alterations
are borne out by notes on the diary ; the results will be found to agree
very well inter se, and to be fully sufficient for the determination of
the annual and diurnal oscillations, which it is my object to deduce for
as many points as possible on the Indian continent.
The following tables present an abstract of the monthly means de-
duced from Dr. Wtlib's daily observations : they have been reduc-
ed to the temperature of 32° Farh.
Five months of 1820 are omitted for want of space, as the year was
incomplete ; but the entries were used in the calculations of the monthly
means in the tables which follow.
Tablb I. — Meteorological Observations at Nagpur 9 by Dr. Wtlib.
Barometer reduced to 32° Farh.
| 1821
1822
1823
1826
1827
1828
1829
19 A. M.
5 p.m.
9 a.m.
5 P. M.
9 A.M.
5 p.m.
NOON.
NOON.
NOON.
NOON.
January,
28.906
28.783
28.839
28.722
29.026
28.927
28.880
28.867
28.807
February
29.031
.914
.866
.725
28.980
.886
.780
» . . »
.752
.796
March, _
.102
.989
.756
.642
.862
.779
. • . .
28.759
.716
.733
April, _
.038
.895
.698
.587
.763
.655
. . . .
.666
.622
.615
May,_
28.842
.729
.710
.646
.695
.610
.612
....
.562
. ... .
June,
.695
.611
.667
i .593
.682
.568
.481
.402
.427
.390
July,
.563
.492
.643
.543
.630
.514
.455
.401
.437
.458
August,,.
.465
.412
.646
.560
.693
.610
.507
.478
.512
.508
Sept
.558
.472
.706
.613
.803
.680
.547
.515
.515
.556f
October.
.733
.634
.828
.724
.724
.711
.688
.675f
No?
.805
.760
.970
.859
.844
.811
.841
.845f
Dec.-_
.889
.770
29.012
.922
.847
.847t
t 0.200 has been added to these five months as supposed index error of a new tuba
then used.
• After this filling of the tube in the damp weather of June, we find the mercury
for five months standing full two-tenths too low, confirming my remarks in a for-
mer number of the Journal. The cleaning in the dry weather of November again
nised the index to the same or even a greater amount.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
544
Additional Note on the Climate of Nagpur.
[Oct.
Tablx II
. — Thermometer in
doors,
attached to the Barometer
1821
1822
1823
1826
1827
1828]
1829
9 A. M . 5 P. M.
9 a.m. 5 p. it.
9 a. if. 5 p.m.
NOON.
NOON.
NOON.
NOON.
January,
72.9
78.7
713
76.3
74.7
78.0
74
....
71
72
February
76.0
823
75.0
82.4
77.0
82.0
78
....
76
723
March, «
81.0
84.0
82.8
88.2
803
84.5
....
83
813
83
April, «~
87.7
90.7
86.0
883
88.0
91.0
84
83 853
May,
87.8
91.0
91.5
93.2
88.8
88.6
82.5
....
84 t ....
June,~~»
89.0
913
87.0
90.1
88.5
89.4
88.7
89
86
July,
81.9
84.7
83.1
84.9
84.2
86.2
85
83 813
August, _
80.9
83.5
82.6
84.0
82.9
84.3
81
83 81
Sept.—
81.0
83.4
82.0
83.2
83.0
83.7
82
82
82
October,
77.7
83.5
83.0
86.0
....
....
83.5
81
82
Nor
755
79.9
76.8
81.3
....
....
76
76
753
Dec
66.7
74.0
72.8
76.6
....
....
73
71
723
Means***.
79.8 84.0
81.1
84.5
80.9 79.8
787
Table III.— Fall of Rain at
Nagpur, registered by Dr
. Wtmb.
Month.
(Lloyd)
1814-15
1826
1827
1828
1829
1830
1831
1832
-January,
February, •
March,
• •
0\23
7.08
14.72
736
2.97
0.45
230
i.io
22.23
12.00
18.50
8.13
0.04
1.31
0.40
030
3.84
1.01
0.21
6.25
14.93
7.51
1632
0.00
2.89
0.13
0.19
1.21
0.71
0.06
1.65
837
933
9.07
9.40
6.46
0.26
0.76
2.49
0.06
8*07
15.94
7.89
632
8.22
0.50
137
0.68
135
8.54
7.10
7.00
4.78
1.98
13.78
722
I4.f8
11.98
7.24
2.27
8.24
238
April,
May,
••
June,
July,
&01
14.49
August,
3.46
September,
777
October,
November,
December,
..
Annual, Total,
32.81
65.61
53.99
46.61
50.25
33.00
6531
37.14
In the Monsoon,....
32.36
62.00 45.22
44.18
46.44
30.75 1 54.80
3373
Average of eight years, 48.10 inches.
From these data we may proceed to calculate the annual and diurnal
ranges, according to the form adopted in my former tables in the first
volume of this Journal, page 23. The Latitude of Nagpur is about
21 f 10' N. and the Longitude 79° 15' E., the Barometer therefore
should have a smaller rise and fall, during the year, than that of Cal-
cutta, but greater than that of Madras, and so it turns out. There
should also be a corresponding modification in the annual range of
temperature, and in the diurnal change of heat and pressure : but I
must leave any general deductions until I have accumulated other
tables, to place in comparison with those aires dy collected. A very
accurate annual series has been kept at Cuttack by Captain B. Blakb,
which I trust will shortly appear in the Journal.
Digitized by
Google
1839.] Additional Note on the Climate ofNagptr. 545
Average Range of the Barometer at Nagpur, reduced to 32° Farh.
For the years
For the years
Monthly
Mean Diur-
Prevail-
ing
winds*
Month.
1820-23.
Mean.
1826 to 1829,
difference
nalBarome-
at about
from annu-
tric Tide,
9 a. m.
5 P. M.
1 P. M.
al mean.
1820-23.
inch.
inch.
inch.
inch.
inch.
inch.
January, . .
28.926
.810
28.868
28.851
+.162
.116
E.
February, ..
.959
.845
.902
.776
+.142
.114
var.
March, . .
.906
.803
.854
.736
+.098
.103
▼ar.
April, ....
.833
.712
.772
.634
+.008
.121
Wy.
May, .. ..
.749
.662
.705
.587
—.051
.077
W.
June, ....
.637
.539
.588
.425
—.191
.098
w.
Jnly, ....
.576
.486
.531
.438
—.213
.090
w.
August, . .
.587
.507
.547
.501
—.173
.080
W.
September,
.674
.575
.625
.533
—.118
.099
w.
October, ..
.796
.683
.739
.699
+.022
.113
Ny.
NE.
November,.
.887
.809
.848
.835
+.144
.078
December,.
.950
.846
.898
.847
+.175
.104
var.
Means,....
28.790
28.689
28.739
28.657
Range .388
.100
In lieu of taking the thermometric means from Dr. Wylib's
Tables, which are only entered for the hours at which the barometer
was registered, the following extracts from a Journal kept by Captain
Lloyd, for which also we are indebted to Dr. Wylik, will better
serve to furnish the range of the daily temperature.
Thermometric Range at Nagptir, by Captain Lloyd.
Monthly
Month.
1809.
1814-15.
difference
Mean diur-
nal range.
max.
min.
mean.
max.
min.
mean.
mean.
January, ..
78
69
68
83,8
57,5
71,0
-11,4
17,1
February, ..
87
72
75
87,1
63,3
73,9
— 6,5
19,4
March, . .
98
64
83
98,9
69,0
85,2
+ 3,1
31,9
April,.. . •
100
77
89
102,5
81,3
93,0
+10,5
21,6
May, . .
101
79
90
104,4
91,6
98,4
+13,3
18,4
June, ....
91
76
84
103,6
85,6
90,3
+ 6,2
16,0
July, .. ..
88
74
79
86,9
78,4
82,5
-0,2
10,8
August, . .
86
70
79
88,9
77,3
82,7
-0,1
13,8
September,
86
75
79
1 91,9
78,2
84,3
+ 0,7
11,8
October, . .
88
64
79
89,3
74,4
83,1
+ 0,1
19,4
November,.
86
54
73
87,8
60,9
75,3
— 6,8
24,4
December,-
85
57
72
84,9
60,6
72,6
— 8,6
26,1
Mean, ....
89.4
693
79.2
92,5
73,5
82,7
Range 24,6
19,2
The constant difference between the numbers of the two years leada
me to attribute it to an index error of one of the thermometers. Pro-
bably the second instrument stands too high, for the other more nearly
agrees with those of Drs. Wylib and Gsddss. A want of prior compa-
rison with a standard instrument thus often destroys confidence and robs
of half its value the labour of years. Such an error however does not
3b
Digiti
zed by G00gle
546 Asiatic Society. [Ort.
interfere with the results derived from this table, namely, the monthly
and diurnal range : — it only affects the mean annual temperature,
which, with all the data before us, cannot positively be determined,
although tbe numerous observations of different hours and with differ-
ent instruments may neutralize many irregularities : thus we have the
mean annual temperature,
At Sunrise, in the open air.. 69,5 from Dr. Geddes' Tables (page 241.)
Minimum temperature, . . . . 69,3 by Captain Lloyd.
At nine a. m. in the house,.. 80,5 by Dr. Wylie.
At noon ditto, 80,3 (tatty used in the hot months ?)
At two p. m. ditto, 81,1 by Dr. Geddes.
Maximum temperature, .... 89,4 by Captain Lloyd*
At five p. m. ditto, 84,2 by Dr. Wylie.
At eight p. m. ditto, 80,2 by Dr. Geddes.
Mean of maxima and mamma, < g^'- f by Captain Lloyd.
From the mean of the maxima and minima, and from the pair of
observations at 9 a. m. and 8 p. m., it may be assumed with tolerable
confidence that the mean temperature of Nagpur does not differ much
from 80° Farh. which is nearly two degrees higher than that of Calcutta,
and l£ lower than that of Madras.
VI. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, 30th October, 1833.
The Honorable Sir Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, Bt. V. P. in the
Chair.
The Proceedings of the last meeting were read.
Read, a letter from Colonel Casement, Military Secretary, stating that
the Government will have much pleasure in transmitting to the Honorable
the Court of Directors the Report on the Experimental Boring, and in re-
commending a compliance with the Society's application for such a supply of
apparatus as will enable them to continue it in an efficient manner.
Read, a letter from G. A. Bushby, Esq. Sec Gen. Dep. communicating the
permission of Government for the dispatch of 100 copies of the 18th volume
of the Researches by the first ships of the season, free of charge for freight.
Read, a letter from W, Twining, Esq. Secretary to the Medical and Phy-
sical Society, expressing their regret at being unable to pay a monthly con.
tribution for the use of the rooms occupied by their Library and Museum
and repeating the acknowledgment of the President and Members for the
liberality which has afforded them that accommodation.
Read, a letter from J. C. Morris, Esq. Secretary Mad. Lit. Soc request,
ing the loan of a volume of the Mackenzie MS. Translations of Inscriptions
in the South of India. Resolved, that the request be immediately complied
with.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Asiatic Society. 547
Read, a letter from the Rev. Dr. Burrow, forwarding the printed pros-
pectus of a plan for an expedition into Central Africa, and requesting the
encouragement and assistance of the Physical Class of the As. Soc.
Resolved, that the funds of the Society are not in a state to allow a con-
tribution towards the objects of the African expedition, but that the aid of
individuals be invited by circulation of the prospectus amongst the mem-
bers*
Library.
The following books were presented :
Third part of the sixteenth volume of the Transactions of the Linnsan Society,
together with a list of its members, for 1832— by the Society,
Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, part 2nd, vol. 4th, new
series— by the Society.
Memoirs of the Astronomical Society of London, vol. 5th — by the Society.
Report of the First and Second Meetings of the British Association for the ad-
vancement of Science — by the Yorkshire Philosophical Society.
Proceedings of the Natural History Society of the Mauritius, for June, 1833 — by
the Society.
Proceedings of the Geological Society of London, No. 28 — by the Society.
Madras Journal of Literature and Science — by the Madras Literary Society.
Journal Asiatique, Nos. 58, 62, and 63 — by the Asiatic Society of Paris.
Thirteenth and fourteenth volumes of the Transactions of the Batavian Society—
ty the Society.
Second Annual Report of the Council of the Naval and Military Library and
Museum — by Messrs. Bagshaw and Co. for the Council.
Von Hammer's History of the Ottoman Empire, 9th volume, and some loose
tracts — by the Author.
Jahrbucher der Literature, vols. 57, 58, 59, and 60— by Councellor Von Hammer.,
Marcoz, Astronomie Solaire Simplifiee— by H. T. Colebrooke, Esq.
De Tassy, Memoire sur le Systeme Metrique des Arabes — by the Author, *
Leipziger Literature Zeitung, Nos. 206, 207, 20 8, and 209— by the Editor.
D. H. Fitton on the Progress of Geology in England — by the Author.
Ditto's Geological Sketch of the Vicinity of Hastings — by the Author.
A short system of Polite Learning, compiled and translated by Maha Raja KalI
Kissen Bahadur— by the Translator.
Select Extracts from Lord Chesterfield's Advice to his Son, translated into
Bengalee, by Radhanath Det— by the Translator.
Stocqurler's Fifteen Months' Pilgrimage through untrodden tracts of Khuzistan,
and Persia — by the Author.
The following books were received from the Book-sellers :
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia— British Admirals, 1st vol.
Iron and Steel, 2nd vol.
Christian Church, 1st vol.
Library of Useful Knowledge — Waddington's History of the Church.
Spain and Portugal.
• Printed on the cover of the present number.
3 b 2
Digitized by
Google
T 548 Asiatic Society. [Ocr.
* Lybll's Principles of Geology, 3rd vol.
Theatrum Pontificiale, 6 vols.— pt#re*«etf £y file Society.
Memoires Concernant les Chinots, 14 vols.— presented by the SecreUny,
Bead, a letter from Mr. A. Boue% Foreign Sec. of the Geological Society
of France, offering an exchange of their publications against the Journal
and Transactions of the As. Soc Resolved, that the exchange be made with
pleasure, through the Society's Agent in London.
Bead, also letters from Professor Von Hammer, the Secretaries of the
Philadelphian and Batavian Societies, &c. relative to the works detailed
above.
Antiquities, Statistics, %c.
Bead, a letter from Mr. Tufnbl, Sec. of the Right Honorable the Go-
vernor of Ceylon, presenting copies of some inscriptions in the Nagari cha-
racter, collected by Captain Forbes of the 78th Highlanders, agent in the
Matele district.
Thousands of inscriptions, in the same character, are stated to be found in the
island : but we have not yet any clue to the relative value of these letters in the
modern Nagari alphabet. They are evidently identical with those of the Kanonj
coins* and with the inscriptions referred by Mr. Stirling to the Buddhists, or
Jyns ; which their occurrence in Ceylon certainly tends to confirm.
Bead, a letter from £. Stirling, Esq. submitting a tabular statement of the
price of grain at Alligurh, from our first possession of the country, to 1832.
A statistical report on the population of the town and district of Mur-
ihedabad, drawn up by Mr. H. V. Hathorn, was submitted by Mr. J. R.
Colvin.
[We shall give an abstract of these statements in our next.]
Bead, a note from Mr. J. H. Stooqueler, presenting some coins, collected
during his travels in Europe.
A Fac Simile of an Arabic Inscription, cut in an escarpment of the rock
at the Fort of Chanderi, was presented by Dr. J. Tytler, in the name of
Lieut. Macdonald ; from whose letter, the following extract was read :
" I have discovered an ancient inscription at Chanderi, near which I am now en-
camped. This place now belongs to Scindia, who took it from the former Raja,
20 years ago. The Fort of Chanderi, which consists of a sandstone wall, flanked by
circular towers, built upon a steep hill, was in former days considered impregnable.
Colonel Baptist a, of Scindia's service, succeeded after a five months siege ia
starving out the Bundeta garrison, and it is now occupied by Marhatta troops. To
my inquiries into the ancient history of the place, I could obtain no satisfactory
information. The ignorant Marhattas and Bundelas could only name one famous
Raja, Sibupal, who flourished in the days of Hindu supremacy, and founded tak
place. It was afterwards rendered famous by being the residence of Alemgib for
a short period. The ruins of mosques, sarais, madrissas, and baolies, mahals and
zenanas, indicate its former magnificence under the Musulman sovereignty.
There are many ancient inscriptions, but I selected the accompanying, which I
sound upon a famous ghat or passage which has been cut with stupendous labour
* See page 415 and p. 317.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Asiatic Society. 549
through a sold rock 100 feet high. This ghat which leads from Chanderf through a
sandstone ridge into the adjacent country is in itself a lasting monument of the
gigantic undertakings of the Musulman sovereigns, hut to the modern inhabitants
even the name of the monarch who accomplished this great excavation is unknown.
I hope therefore that this inscription will rescue it from oblivion.
*' The inhabitants of this country view our trigonometrical operations with sus-
picion and dread. They cannot comprehend the object of burning lights upon the
summits of distant hills, and they, can only atribute it to some black art, or jadu,
*y which we wish to take possession of their country. " The weather is getting
hot, the thermometer ranging between 88° at sunrise, and 108° at 2 p. m. in my
tent.
IStk Map, 1833, Camp near Chanderi.
The inscription, after insertion of the second Smra of the Koran, called Ayet-
Hl-Kursi, sets forth that the lofty gate of Gnmti and Keroli, near the tank, were
erected by J 6 man Khan, son of She> Khan, by order of the Sultan-us-Salatia
Ghias-ud-oin, on the 14th Jum&d-us Sdni a. h. 700 (a. d. 1301).
Physical.
Lettersfrom Lieut. Burt, Engineer, of Allahabad, dated 26th August, and
from Lieut- Newbolt, of Malacca, 1 1th July, were read, intimating that they
had dispatched shells and geological specimens, which have not yet reach.
ed their destination.
Specimens of coal, lignite, pyrites, &c. from Kyook Ehyoo, were pre-
sented in the name of Lieut. Foley.
[A note on the subject of Lieut. Foley's discoveries will appear in our next.]
Specimens of the fossil shells discovered by Dr. H. H. Spry, Correspond,
ing Member, Ph. CL in digging a well near Sagar.
These are the specimens alluded to in a notice published in the July number of
the Journal (page 376), announcing the discovery of fossil shells, 17 feet below
the surface. Dr. Spry's account has not been yet received, it may suffice there-
fore to state that the shells are of one species, all left-handed, and precisely the
same as those discovered by Dr. Spilsbury, silicified in indurated clay, near Jabal-
pur, and described in the Proceedings of the Society for April, (p. 205) ; these how-
ever are in their natural state, imbedded in a loose cellular wacken, the white granu-
lar appearance of which is derived from silex in a white crumbling state, lining the
numerous cells of the matrix as is often observed in the geodes of zeolite and helio-
trope. Both above and below the shell stratum are beds of wacken, a basaltic clay,
becoming harder below, and more earthy above ; the surface being the common
black cotton soil, abounding throughout the trap district. The same shell
deposit will probably be found to extend over a considerable field.
On turning to Dr. Voysey's description of the shell stratum in the Gawilgarh
hills, a perfect identity is observable in the thickness and nature of the superin-
cumbent and subjacent beds of wacken and basalt : the shells however are de-
scribed by him as conus or voluta, but as they were much broken and compressed,
they were probably not easily recognized, and may have been after all identical
with the present shells. They bear some resemblance to the common ampul-
laria of the tanks and jheels of Upper India, described by Mr. Benson, Gleanings,
i. p. 265. The fossil shell however has some specific distinctions, in its more
Digiti
zed by G00gle
,650 Asiatic Society. [Oct.
oral form, and the constant reversion of the whorls. Should it torn oat to he
an ampullaria, it will he a proof of fresh water lakes, co-existent with the emission
of the Upper Sagar trap, and perhaps with the fossil hone deposit, and as both by
Voysey'b testimony and by that of Dr. Spry the shell bed bears all the appearance
of a regular stratum — it will serve as a mark of distinction between the older and
more recent volcanic emissions of that extensive field.
Further specimens of fossil bones and of shell breccia, and the fossil jaw
of an elephant ; also specimens of the rock on which the bones were dis-
covered, near Jabalpur, by Dr. Sphsbuby. [A note and illustrative section
will be given in our next.]
A stuffed eagle from Nipal, and a pole-cat, presented by Captain Rox-
burgh.
Two specimens of the nest of the Tailor bird — by 8. P. Stacy, Esq.
A report from the Curator was submitted on the subject of a collection
of insects and shells, which had been purchased in anticipation of the Socie-
ty's sanction, for the Museum, at an expence of Rupees 100. The collection
was made in the Silhet and Kasya hills, and contains several new species,
particularly one of a paludina, first described by Mr. Benson, in the
first number of the Journal A paper on the subject of this shell, by Dr.
J. T. Pearson, was read, and the purchase of the collection was sanctioned.
The thanks of the Society were voted for the several contributions of the
evening.
MADRAS LITERARY SOCIETY AND AUXILIARY OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.
Thursday, 8th August, 1833.
The Right Honorable Sir F.Adam, K. C. B. Present. Honorable Sir R. Palmer,
President, in the Chair.
An able and interesting paper on the rise and early history of the Syrian Chris-
tians on the Malabar Coast, by the Venerable the Archdeacon, was read to tbe
meeting by the learned author, to whom the thanks of the Society were unanimous-
ly voted. It was further resolved, that the paper in question be adopted by the
Society and be set aside for publication.
It was then proposed by Lieut. -Col. Coombs and seconded by Lieut. -Col. Cullbic.
That it is desirable with reference to several interesting memoirs and papers
which have already been submitted to the Society, and to others which may here-
after be received, to adopt means for giving them earlier publicity than the neces-
sarily distant and slow publication of the Society's transactions will admit ; and,
that independently of papers read before the Society, and of notices of their meet-
ings and proceedings, the publication under tbe auspices of the Society of a month-
ly or quarterly journal, similar to the Asiatic Journal of Calcutta, would, by afford-
ing a suitable vehicle for occasional essays and papers connected with objects of
oriental literature and science be in strict furtherance of the professed object of
the Society, and likely to prove if adequately supported and encouraged, eminently
and extremely useful.
The foregoing resolution having been discussed, was agreed to, and it was resolv-
ed to refer the same to the Committee of Papers in the Asiatic Department, to
arrange the details and adopt the necessary measures for carrying the plan into
effect. Several works were presented and thanks voted for the same.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Analysis of Booh. 551
VII. — Analysis &f Books.
Seventeenth volume 0/ Asiatic Researches, or Transactions of the Society insti-
tuted in Bengal for inquiring into the History, the Antiquities, the Arts and Sci-
ences and Literature of Asia. Calcutta, 1832.
This volume is prefaced with an address from the Society to its late Secretary
Mr. H. H. Wilson, upon the occasion of his departure to Europe, which will he
found printed at length in the Journal, vol. i. p. 563.
I. The first paper is a Statistical Report on the Bhotia Mehals of Kemaon, by
G. W. Traill, Esq. Commissioner. It forms a supplement to the more elaborate
report by the same officer on the district of Kemaon, printed in the sixteenth vo-
lume of the Asiatic Researches, 1828.
The Bhot Mehals, forming in extent one-third of the Kemaon province, are
bounded at the north by the table-land of Tibet, on the south they extend to the base
of the Himalaya range, and are irregularly defined, piercing through the barrier
of the snowy range at the passes of the five principal rivers, Mana and Ntti, on the
feeders of the Ganges ; Juwar, Darma, and Byanse, on those of the Sarda or Gogra.
These limited valleys, or gorges, are the only productive and inhabitable parts
of Bhot, the rest consisting of snow and barren rock. They are elevated 6000 feet
above the sea, while the peaks around them tower to 20 and 25,000 feet. The Bho-
tias insist that the zone of snow is continually extending, and cutting off passes from
one valley to another, which were formerly passable at least for a few days in the
year. The only accessible roads now follow the direction of the streams, and ow-
ing to avalanches (huin gut) and slips (paira) require constant toil for their pre-
servation. The Niti is the most practicable pass, but at many points ponies and cattle
are forced to be raised or lowered by means of slings passed round their bodies !
There are but 59 villages and 1325 houses, and about 10,000 inhabitants in this
mountainous district, of whom nine-tenths are Bhotias or Tibetans.
For half the year the ground is covered with snow, and an interval of four
months without a fall of snow, forms an uncommonly favorable summer !
Phapar and Ugal, two varieties of buck- wheat, U& Jao and Jao, beardless and
common barley, are the principal agricultural products of the province. The Pha-
ser seem indigenous, as it is found wild on all high mountains. Wheat and Marsa,
a species of Amaranthus, yield an uncertain crop.
" Turnips and leaks are the only vegetables raised in Bhot ! but many useful roots
and herbs are spontaneously produced, among these are, the wild garlic, ce-
lery, rhubarb, frankincense (mart or balchar) , laQari, chora, bhotkes, and kathi,
objects of export to Hindustan. The rhubarb is somewhat inferior in its color and
properties to the Turkey, and the Bhotias do not take it inwardly, though they
apply the powder to wounds and bruises : it is also used as an ingredient in the
formation of a red dye, in conjunction with Manjith (very abundant here) and
potash."
Among the fruits, Mr. Traill enumerates the gooseberry, currant, raspberry,
strawberry, and pear. Walnuts and hazlenuts are common, but small ; apricots and
peaches do not thrive. Oaks, pines, the celebrated Deodar, and the Suryi or Arbor
vitse, with trunks of 20 and 25 feet in circumference, are common ; to them succeed
the Rhododendron, the king pine, the yew, the Naspati, or white Rhododendron,
(used as snuff,) Bindhara or juniper, and above all, the Bhoj (bhuria), or birch on '
the very verge of perpetual snow # .
* See note in page 337.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
652 Analysis of Books. [Oct.
The domestic animals are the common hill black cattle, and the Bnr&gai or Yik of
Tartary ; the J&bu and Garju are prolific mules between these two, very serviceable
for carriage : sheep and goats, used also for burden ; stout ponies, called Gunte, dogs,
(the Buatuu, tamed,) and cats. The wild animals are the Barjl or tawny bear; the
Bharal, wild sheep ; Ktuturi, mnsk deer; the JMta, a small brown marmot; the
Kukar, ferret, and rats with short tails.
The birds peculiar to Bhot are the falcon and hawk, the Hlbn-w61 (bird of
snow), ptarmigan ; M&kao, wild pigeon, and Kyang, or chough, with scarlet bill sad
legs. The Bhaunr or wild bee builds its nest on the southern aspect of the Hima-
laya.
Of minerals, Mr. Traill mentions iron, sulphur, and yellow orpiment. Hie fossil
bones called Bijll hdr are chiefly found at the crest of the Niti pass, full 17,000 (set
high. Hot springs are numerous, and there is reason to suspect that a volcaao
exists on the Nanda Devi peak.
We have not space to follow the author into the history and manners of the people
who inhabit this secluded tract : they derive their origin from Tibet but shew aa
equal admixture of Hindu in their institutions. It would have been interesting to
have added a vocabulary of words in the unwritten Donna dialect spoken by the
aborigines of the country.
Situated between the Tibetan and Gorkha powers, the Bhots have had to psy
for the protection of both : and being the key of commercial intercourse between
Tartary and Hindustan, the revenue jama, raised from this limited population, on
the introduction of the British Government, in 1872, Sambat, amounted to so large a
sum as Rupees 11,565. By an enlightened policy, the transit duties were soon after
all abolished, and though the direct receipts were thus reduced to one-half, the in-
crease of trade must have amply compensated for the loss.
The principal exports from Bhotia to Tibet or HiuruU* (snowland) consists of
grain, calico, hardware, broadcloth, gur, sugar, and timber. The imports are
salt, the natural produce of lakes in Hiunde'e, 15,000 maunds : tincal or borax, also
the natural produce of a lake ; in this article there was much speculation for the
British market, and the import increased from 1500 to 20,000 maunds in 1818-19,
a quantity far exceeding the demand in Eugland. The supply has since Allen to 7
or 8000 mds. The other imports are wool, shawl-wool, gold dust, and a few trifling
articles. As the imports from 1816 to 1821 much exceeded the exports, a large
amount of Furukhabad rupees found their way to HiuruM*, of which they have be-
come the favorite currency.
Mr. Traill's able report terminates with a few remarks on the province of
Hiundes, of which a full account has already been given in the Journal in Mr. A.
Csoma's Geographical Notice of Tibet, (vol. i. p. 124.)
II. — The next paper is an Essay on the mode of performing the arithmetical
operation of the extraction of root$ f at practised by the Arabs, and given in the
Ayoun-ool-Htiab, by John Tytler. At first sight this paper appears rather lengthy,
but its subject is one which it is difficult to compress so as to render intelligible, and
indeed without a diagram it is by no means easy to render it intelligible at all.
The Binomial formula of any power (a + £)» is a* + n a*— 1 6+ *' *~~
*»— *b* &c &"• This may be considered as consisting of two terms a* and
ae*- 1 *^- — 1_ _ a*-*** .,,. b». Supposing a given number to consist
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Analysis of Books. 553
of more than » figures, and consequently to be of the form eXlO* +r then if
«* be the nearest approximate n<* power to e and if *X10* — «* xlO» = v and
M. «— 1
** XlO" be supposed to expound a* 1 and v+r to expound n a"— 1 6 + ■
2
«»-* 6 s 4* , the complete nth root of e X 10» 4*r will be found by finding an
approximate nth power toe, and then seeking such a number as when substituted
n, n i
for b in na*— * b -f» — a"- 4 J* .. .. b n will render the sum of this ex-
pression and the product of the nearest nth power already found into 10" , less or
not greater than eXlO" +r or (c+i)* . And this operation is to be repeated
according to the number of figures in («+£)».
Our books of arithmetic contain nothing farther than the above statement, and
leave the mode of finding the second number of the root, and of its successive invo-
lutions and multiplications into its proper co-efficients, entirely to the student.
The Arabian arithmeticians, with a good deal of ingenuity certainly, (whether
well or ill directed is another question,) have invented a table or diagram in
which, by a sort of mechanical process, the sought number b by the bare process
of multiplication into one figure, and addition to the number above it, is succes-
sively involved to all its powers, multiplied into all its co-efficients, and the sum of
the whole found.
The Arabians give to their diagram the quaint name of Shuhul-i-Mumburee, or
Pulpit, or, as Mr. Tytler more grandly translates it, Anabatbroidal diagram. The
figure consists of ascending steps like those of the stairs of a Mohammadan pulpit.
The etymologies of by far the greater part of our technical terms are not more ra-
tional.
The Arabian operation, in fact, is a very careful mode of finding the result of
* a*— 1 b + — a»— * b .... bn so as not to repeat any of the steps or per-
form the same calculation twice over. With our present improved methods,
it is seldom that the arithmetical extraction of roots of high powers is
performed ; but were it often required, we should soon find the necessity of
attention to this matter, and of some system in arranging our operations, so as to
avoid doing the same thing over and over again.
Such mechanical contrivances have been employed by the greatest Mathemati-
cians : it will be sufficient to instance the celebrated square, almost on the prin-
ciple* of a magic square, invented by Sir I. Newton, for solving equations by means
of converging series* A mind curious in tracing analogies, might discover in the
Arabic anabathroidal diagram, some traces of that reasoning which must have led
to the discovery of the wonderful calculating machine of Mr. Babbaob.
To give an idea of the Arabian method, we shall here extract the approximate
6th root of 166,571,800, which is the two first steps of the example given by Mr.
Tytler. In the original diagram longitudinal lines are drawn between each two
figures : for those we have substituted dots, and the several steps of the operation
are numbered I. (which is at the bottom) II. III. &c. To abbreviate, let 10 be
denoted by <p, 166 by e, 571800 by r, 2 the approximate 6th root of 166 by a and
3 by b 9 and the effect of the several operations will be as marked in the following
diagram.
30
Digitized by
Google
554
Analysis of Books*
[Oct.
VI
VII.
XLVI.
XLV.
XLIV
•XVII.
XVI.
XV.
V.
XLIII.
166
.64
102571800=
. 84035889=
28011963=
..8811963=
192.
192..
160..
.32..
c
V X «=«* or 6th power of approximate root of e or first
Subtrahend.
(« — a) <p>* + r = Resolvent!.
XLV X3=6a 5 4> 5 * + 15a 4 * 4 * 3 + 20a 3 ** ** + 15
a 2 <b* b A + 6 a <f> ** + A* or second Subtrahend.
XLIV + XVII = 6 a* ** + 15 a 4 * 4 A +20 a 3 * 3 #* +
15 a 3 <f>* £» + 6 a * b* + *»•
XLIII X 3 = 15 a 4 <f> 4 * + 20 a 3 * 3 6* + 15 a 3 * 3 J 3 +
XVI X 4> J = 6 a* f 5 .
XV + V~6a*.
: XIV X a = 5 a*.
IV X a = a*
..2937321=
XLll. ...537321=
•XXV.
XXIV.
XXIII.
XIV.
XIII.
IV.
XLl
..240....=
240...
160...
.80...
.64...
.16...
XLII + XX\i= 15 a 4 <p* + 20 a 3 * 3 * + 15 a 3 +*P +
^4 a + 6a^*»+*«
6a4>A> + ft 4 .
XLI x 3 = 20 a 3 * 3 * + 15 a 3
XXIV x 4> 4 = 15 « 4 **•
XXIII + XIV = 15 a 4
XXII X a = 10 a 4 .
XIII + IV = 5 a 4 .
XII x a = 4 a 4 .
Ill X a. = a 4
XL.
XXXI.
XXX.
XXIX
XXII
XXI.
XII.
XI.
III.
...179107=
....19107=
...160...=
160 «;
.80 =
.80 =
.48 :
.32 :
.24 :
..8 :
.6369=
..369=
XXXIX
XXXVIII
♦ xxxv.j 60.
XXX1VJ.60....
XXXIII.
XXVIII.
XXVII.
XX.
XIX.
X.
IX.
II.
• XXXVII
XXXVI
xxxn.
XXVI.
XV1I1.
VIII
I
20 =
.40 =
.16 =
.24 =
.12 =
.12 =
..8 =
..4 =
XL + XXXI= 20a 3 <p 3 + 15a 3 d.*ft + 6a** 3 + *»
XXXIX X 3 = 15 a 3 <f>* b + 6 a <p P + IP.
XXX x <p* = 20 a 3 **.
XXIX + XXII = 20 a 3 .
XXVIII X a = 10 a 3 .
XXI + XII = 10 a 3 .
XX X 0=260".
: XI + HI = 4 a 3 .
: X X a = 3 a 3 .
: II x a = a 3 .
XXXVIII + XXXV = 15 a* <p* + 6 a <p b + A 3 .
XXXVII X* = 6c<f>ft-M 3 .
: XXXIV X <p = 15 a* <f.
XXXIII -f XXVIII = 15 a 3 .
: XXXII X a = 5 a'.
: XXVII + XX = 10 a*.
XXVI X a = 4 a*.
XIX + X = 6a*.
XVIII X a =3 a 3 .
IX + II = 3 a 3 .
VIII X a = 2 a 8 .
I x I = a X a =a 3 .
.. ..123= XXXVI X* + 3 = 6a<f> + &.
12 = XXXII + a = 6a.
10 = XXVI + a =5 a.
8 = XVIII + a = 4a.
.6 = VIII + a=3<
.4 = I + Iora + a = 2a.
* 2 = a or approximate root of e.
The only parts that require explanation are those steps of the operation marked
with an asterisk. In these it is to be remembered, that if there be a given row of
figures as 8811963, and there be added to, or subtracted from it, another row, so that
Digiti
zed by G00gle
J 853] Analysis of Book*. 553
the units of the second may be under the figure in the n*n place of the first, the
tens of the second under the (* + l)th place of the first, the hundreds under place
n + 2 &c. this is in reality adding or subtracting the product of the second row
by 10—1. Thus 8811963
192
8813883 is in reality 8811963 + 192 X 10.
Again 8811963
192
8831163=8811963 + 192 X 10*
and soon to 8811963
192
28011963 = 8811963+192X105.
The course of the other operations, by which the co-efficients of the Binomial
Theorem are formed by successive additions of the several orders of figurate num-
bers, will be obvious to any one who takes the trouble of tracing them in the order
of the diagram : for the mode of repeating the whole operation, so as to find roots
of many figures, we must refer to the original paper : a little consideration however
of the diagram already given will render that obvious also.
The method here detailed gives no more than the integral figures of the root,
and the Arabs being unacquainted with decimal fractions, could go no farther. To
remedy this, they employ a formula for finding a fraction, to be added to the
integral part of the root, so as to give a nearer approximation.
Their formula is this; Let m be the approximate nth root of M and M — n& =*r
thenf in + , — r-rr- I will be less than M and consequently m+ - — :
L (w+l) n — m n J H J ^(m+l)».
is a nearer approximate nth root of M, as may be easily proved. In this case r and
(f*-H)» — m» are found by the last revolution of operations in the Anabathroidal
Diagram.
This formula however is imperfect, and when applied to high powers, pro-
duces great errors : in the square it never can be greater than J, but in seeking, for
example, the 6th root of 396, the error is more than 152£. This imperfection the
Arabians appear to have been anxious to remedy : their method is this ; if in
the above formula n=2, that is, if the root sought be the square root, then
r r
jh + - — —becomes m + - — —and the difference between the
(m t 1 J w — fit n *st i
square of this and M may approximate to £. To remedy this, the Arabian arith-
r 2r
meticians instead of m + - Q r i assume the formula m + r— - and
* *•"!" x 4m«f»l
-"-k-=W~- +K--0)'- '' ;:+'■;"
Now this expression is either positive or negative. If positive, Mr. Tvtlbr shews,
it never can exceed T l j ; if negative, then since a negative deficiency is an excess, this
shews that the assumed root is greater than the truth, and in this case the excess of
its square above M will increase according to the value of w, and will approximate to &.
These results the author easily produces by the application of fluxions. The
puzzle is, to understand by what reasoning the Arabians without any means o/
3 c 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
556 Analysis of Books. [Oct.
It
this kind, bit upon a convenient formula such as in +- — -7-7. Though the
4 fit ^p 1
formula, when found, appears simple, yet the difficulty of actually finding it, with
their limited means, must have been very great It was like the Druids elevating
the immense blocks of Stonehenge without mechanics. Most probably it was
discovered by long and laborious tentation.
The author then discusses the effects of assuming as the approximate square
r m
root the formula m + in which 2 is indefinite ; but this, as foreign
2m 2+ 1
to the Arabs, we omit, and shall sum up the whole in his words —
" We may hence form some judgment how much the old arithmeticians most have
been perplexed and retarded by the labour of long multiplication. We, who enjoy the
benefits of the great discovery of Logarithm*, can now scarcely form an estimate of the
difficulties with which they had to conteud from this want, and the facilities which we
enjoy from their use. While, therefore, the Arabian method of extraction may inspire as
with more gratitude to Lord Napier, we must not too hastily condemn it as uselessly
laborious, till we can show that, without a knowledge of his discovery, we cooJd have
more happily succeeded in the facilitating and abbreviation of calculation. Should, after
all these considerations, the intention of the Arabian operation be thought of little valne,
and the labour employed to accomplish it misused, yet the artful contrivances by which
it is attained, and the skilful adaptation for this purpose of the simple principle of the
variation of the signification of symbols from the variation of their situation, must, I
think, in justice, always cause the Pulpit Diagram to be considered a deserving ssoaa-
ment of Arabic ingenuity."
The Author concludes his essay —
"With an acknowledgment of my obligations to my very intelligent friend Dewan
Kanh Jee of Patna ; by him I was furnished with the extract of the Ayoon-ool-Hisab.
His treatise of Arithmetic formerly mentioned*, and his oral explanations enabled me
to comprehend the obscure and studied brevity of the Arabian Author ; and from the
same sources I derived those observations on the fractional part of the root which form
the basis of the concluding paragraphs of the present Essay."
The treatise of Arithmetic here alluded to, and named by its author, the Khiza-
nut-ool-Ilm, is described in vol. xiii. of the Researches, p. 466. It is a rery large
work, consisting of three parts : first, an account of Arabian Mathematical Science;
next, of that of the Hindus, and lastly, as much of the European as the author was
acquainted with. The whole, we are happy to say, is in the course of printing by the
Committee of Public Instruction, and will, when complete, form an invaluable store
of information respecting Oriental Mathematics.
The European part of the Khizanut-ool-Ilm consists of two sections : first, a
complete translation by the Dewan of Bonnycastle's Algebra ; secondly, an extract
consisting of a collection of Geometrical Problems from the papers of the celebrated
Tufuzzool Hosain Khaun of Delhi. This person during his life, was considered
we believe, the best Mohammadan mathematician in India, and he appears to have
employed his time in translating European mathematical works into ArMc ; after
his death, which took place some years ago, Government, we are told, made strong
efforts to obtain his MSS. but in consequence of legal disputes between his rela-
tions these were unsuccessful, and the fate of the papers is probably not known. It
is much to be wished that they could be procured.
• See Essay on the Binomial Theorem, vol. xiiL of the Researches, p. 406. The Dtwaa hmsasn.
Honed is since dead*
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
Jmur.A*.Spc.
OraAtol
Sea,
fUltJlXPM
fijt&McSotl
JsPL
Quarry
sua/
~* I &*& gaj^
IfortxenliU Bed*.
Fault, orDitfaccUtdlkds.
TntsOd Bed*.
fault, <rrlk*fca6d Beds.
Rock A CtOfvy {JtrougA ofAtr rvcfr
SAsus
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 55)
The above facts, the pains taken by Dewan Kanh Jkk, in translating from Eng-
lish, which he understood very imperfectly, and in which (as he acknowledges) he
was greatly assisted by-the kindness of Hbnrt Douglas, Esq. of Patna, and his ex-
tracts from the papers of the Delhi mathematician, are strong proofs, notwithstand-
ing the present fashionable doctrines, of the value set by Natives on translation*
from English works, when well chosen and judiciously executed.
Tufuzzool Hosain Khaun's choice of Arabic for the vehicle of his translations
is also a proof that intelligent Natives do not see the advantages of proscribing that
language so clearly as we.
[To be Continued.'}
II. — Madras Journal of Literature and Science, published under the auspices of
the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary Royal Asiatic Society, edited by
the Secretary, No. 1, October 1833, price to Subscribers 3 Rs. per quarter.
We cannot but feel highly complimented by the appearance of a new periodical
at Madras, professedly founded on the model of our own journal, and imitating
our arrangements even to the style of the title page, the price, the number of pages,
and the gratuitous conduct of the editorial department. We look upon it not as a
rival but as a powerful auxiliary, and we hail it as a guarantee of the revival of
the efforts of the Madras Literary Society. The publication of Researches in an
occasional quarto volume at distant periods has been adduced as a bar rather than
an incentive to contributions of a learned nature, while the limited sale of such
works makes the printing charge fall heavy on a small Society: this has been
partially felt in Calcutta ; and it has led at Bombay, as at Madras, to the absorp-
tion of the institutions there into branches of the Royal Association at home. Under
the new system however of giving rapid publication, free of cost, to short interesting
and ephemeral papers (in which the Bombay Geographical Society may also easily
join by a similar journal for the west of India), the independence and orientality
of each might still be assured ; while by a combination of the means and labours
of the three Indian Societies, a volume of Researches might simultaneously be
kept in hand at Calcutta for their more erudite and lengthened communications. We
have not room to notice the contents of the Madras Journal at present, but we shall
not scruple to extract matter that will be interesting to our own readers. We sin-
cerely regret the untimely end of Lieut.-Colonel Coombs, whom we perceive to
have been one of the chief promoters of its establishment.
VIII. —Miscellaneous.
Circular Instructions from the Geological Society, for the Collection of Geological
specimens, with a plate.
[We beg the attention of our Indian geologists to these simple instructions ; to
which we have only to add that numbers should be put on the stones, where
possible, as paper labels are soon destroyed by insects in this country.]
1. The Geological Society begs to impress upon the minds of all collectors, that
the chief objects of their research should be specimens of all those rocks, marls, or
clays, which contain shells, plants, or any sort of petrifaction.
2. The petrifactions should, if possible, be kept united with portions of the rock,
sand, or clay, in which they are found ; it being more desirable that the mass should
Digiti
zed by G00gle
558 Geological Instructions. [Oct.
be examined carefully when brought to England, than that any separation of the
shells should be attempted at the time of their collection. This injunction, however,
does not apply to those cases in which the shells fall readily from their surrounding
matrix ; but, in this event, great care must be taken of the petrifactions, by rolling
them in paper, or some soft material.
3. If several varieties of stone are seen in the same cliff or quarry, and particu-
larly if they contain any petrifactions, specimens of each should be taken, and
numbered according to their order of succession ; marking the uppermost No. I.,
and thence descending with Nos. 2, 3, &c, making as correct an estimate as time
will permit of the thickness of the beds. None of these specimens need be more
than 3 in. square, and one and a half or two thick. {Jig. 1.)
4. If the rocks are stratified, that is, divided into beds, state whether they are
horizontal, inclined, or twisted. If inclined, observe pretty nearly at what angle,
and to what point of the compass they dip ; if twisted, a sketch, however slight,
is desirable. — N. B. The true dip can seldom be ascertained without examining
the beds on more sides than one. (Jig. 2.)
5. One kind of rock is occasionally seen to cross and cut through the beds of
another. In such a case, observe whether the beds are in the same plane on each
side of the intruding rock ; if not, mark the extent of the disturbance, and also if
there be any difference in the nature of the stone of which the beds are composed,
at those points where they touch the intruding rock. Take specimens from the
junction, and make a sketch of it. {Jig. 3.)
6. Where there are wells, get a list of the beds sunk through in digging them ;
specifying the thickness of each stratum in its order, from the surface downwards.
7. In volcanic districts, procure a list of the volcanoes now or recently in action,
and of those which are extinct ; stating their position, their distance from the sea
or any great lake ; the extent, nature, and, if possible, the age, of particular streams
of lava, or the relative age of different streams : also whether the lava currents
conform to the valleys, or are seen at different heights above the present rivers ;
and also if any gravel beds be discoverable beneath the streams of lava. {fig. 4.)
8. Note the names of all places known to contain coal, bitumen, salt, alabaster,
metallic ores, or any valuable minerals, specifying their extent, and the nature of
the rocks in which they occur; but do not bring away large quantities of iron ore,
spar, salt, &c.
9. In cases of coal-pits, specimens of the coal itself and of the beds passed
through to obtain it (especially when plants have been found) will be valuable.
State whether limestone, iron ore, or springs of bitumen are found near the coal;
and if the limestone contains shells, collect abundance of them.
10. Make particular inquiries whether, in digging gravel-pits, or beds of sur-
face clay, mud, and sand, the workmen are in the habit of finding any bones of
quadrupeds ; and obtain as many of them as possible, selecting particularly teeth
and vertebra.
11. Search also for bones in cracks of rock, and in caverns. In the latter, the
lowest pits or hollows are most likely to contain bones ; and if the solid rock be
covered with a crust of spar or marl, break through it, and dig out any bones, horns,
or pebbles from beneath, {fig. 6.)
12. Observe if the surface of the country be strewed over with large blocks of
stone ; remark whether these blocks are angular or rounded, and whether they ait
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 559
of the same or a different nature from the stratum on which they are laid. If the
Utter, endeavour to trace them to their native bed. Note the different heights at
which gravel is found, and whether or not it is composed of the same rocks as the
adjoining country.
13. Nautical collectors are requested to separate and preserve any shells or
corals which may be brought up, either with the lead or the anchor ; noting the
depth and the locality.
14. On coasts where there is a considerable ebb tide, and where the shore con-
sists of rocks or clay containing fossils, some of the best of these petrifactions
may be looked for, by breaking up with a pick-axe the shelving beds exposed at
low water.
15. In making sections, or memorandums, distinguish well upon the coast,
between masses which have simply slipped and fallen away, and the real cliff itself.
16. When drift wood is met with at sea, collect pieces of it : note the longitude
and latitude, the distance from the nearest land, and the direction of the current by
which it has been borne. Examine well the state of the floating mass, and see
whether any roots or leaves be attached to it.
17. Every specimen should be labelled on the spot, or as soon after collection
as possible, and then rolled in strong paper, or any soft material, to protect its
edges.
18. A heavy hammer to break off the specimens from the rock, and a smaller
one to trim them into shape, are indispensable. If the larger hammer have a pick
at one end, it will be found very useful in digging up and flaking off those thin
shelly beds which usually contain the best preserved shells, &c. A chisel or two
are also desirable.
19. The recommendation expressed in the instruction No. 1, may be repeated :
— That it should be a general maxim with geological collectors to direct their prin-
cipal attention to the procuring of fossil organic remains, both animal and vegeta-
ble. These are always of value when brought from distant countries; especially
when their localities are carefully marked ; but when the rocks contain no petri-
factions, very small specimens are sufficient.
2.— Mirrors of Fusible Alloy.
Bkrzklus has found that by the union of nineteen parts of lead and twenty-nine
of tin, fusible alloy is produced, which affords, on cooling in thin plates, very bright
surfaces. A convex lens dipped several times into the melted alloy, yielded from
the surface dipped, a concave mirror of great lustre. This, mounted upon plaster,
was preserved for some time in the air untarnished. Dust destroys these mirrors,
which will not bear wiping. — Traiti de Chimie.
3. — Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
It appears from the account of the Company for the half year ending the 31st
December last, that notwithstanding a diminution of nearly 74,000 in the number
of passengers during July and August, (supposed to have been caused by the cho-
lera), the loss on this account had, in a considerable degree, been made up by the
greater quantity of merchandize conveyed, and a reduction in the general expenses
of management. The total number of passengers during the half year, was 182,823
—the receipts £43,420. The merchandize conveyed amounted to 86,642 tons —
receipts £37,781. The expenses, including £12,646 for repairs of engines,
amounted to £48,278, leaving a clear profit of £37,781, which enables the Com-
pany to make a dividend, for the half year, of four guineas per share.— Mech. Mag*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
560
Meteorological Register.
[Oct. 1833.
I
I
5
CJ
a
X
^
o*
g H
•3uma.\a
•noo^
•SutoiOK
•3uuiaA3
•2uraioj\
•> >q.Tii]
re 'd f iv
V*
5*" 5
JS ***- > « *
w jw q duw ^ 6 6 o ^ <S d <i deJoi rf j www ^ c 6 . 1 !z
fcZ2
e3 . sJ . . £ £ £ d »* )► . W t3
?.SS&S&%ftSrSSaSS&3SS«'£S92SS223Si:a
I
i
ill
12
sa3aasa8S8ss3ssa*S3S36sst«as?.ss
- II
— >*5
B i
H
to
- -="=2 ^ Ig
tt«-OCO«
P5 •«* »r «c tfl o «c> « eo n <h n ei ■♦ V»a tCta «t4xNNa*«*s » » t^tC c?
'ii'VlMV
~* ci isi — ct" e: eo cTp-T « «T « pf « si pj ;n V -T~ <— * w of ~p? v$ri rs n ■» V
■It 'doUV
■— ©_
t 53
n , dnvn" , -' !, ' lfl ' X ' '' , '« 9 " e ' fll " Na ' M "' NOC ' ,,,WON ' 0,axc "' 5N '" = - mJ
-wqx *3au
Aq -x«iv
il
re -dfonv
S.pj.r v ?5SHp.Sg£S;i.pjJJJJJIil||S|
PJJJlP;P.B?vl^rP/^iP.isl.lll3.g
R5«
v l?ii|2?pgsegi&6iiBSiiisn inn II ;|
—SI
-53
•H'VfMV
•qiuooi
oqi jo te(j
PJJJ5Sg|i?JSr : g2MgpJ_p/llip ; ll
««0)e^ f^.SNa?.: — loie^ **»q «i^.coci p>«9in<f
— 5i5*(Jto<Moi35?«c-)5i?S?:
7 r
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
« 1 urn . As. Soo.
Vcl.EMJnZ
fBGWHl.
Tfw To fie, ofBetar. (s&fu Sop J
Cna l <ks*>wd> at jr.
^adcny
i
/-*■»»*+
Digitized by
J
••:„-<.Y
JOURNAL
• f - ,
OF
THE ASIATIC SO € I ETV;
i">
r ^ -#p t 23.— November y ^8&3. - ^
.*y.;
**■
I. — On the Colossal Idols of Bamidn. By Lieut. Alexander Burnes,
Bombay Army.
On the 23rd, we reached Barman; which is celebrated for its idols
and excavations. These caves are to be sderiin all parts of the valley
for about eight miles, and they still form the residence of the greater
part of the population. They are called *' S&nacli"- by the people. A
detached hill in the middle of the valley is qiaite honey-combed with
them, and brings to our reoollectioii>thte Troglodytes of Alexander's
historians : it is called the city of Ghulykulxt, and consists of a con-
tinued succession of caves in every direction, which are said to have
been the work of a king named JuldL The hilt of Bamidn is formed
of hardened clay and pebbles /which renders its excavation a matter of
little difficulty, but the great extent to which this has been carried excites
attention: Caves are found on both sides of the valley,' but the greater
number are on the northern side, where we found the idols : altogether
they form an immense city. Labourers are frequently hired to dig in the
ruins, and their labours are rewarded by rings, reliques, coins, &c. They
generally bear Cufic inscriptions, and are of a later date than the age of
Muhammed. These excavated caves or houses have no pretensions to
architectural ornament, being no more than squared holes in the hill :
some of them are finished in the shape of a dome, and have a carved
frieze below the point from which the cupola springs. The inhabitants
tell many remarkable' tales of the caves of Bamidn t One in particular,
that a mother lost her child among them, and recovered it after a lapse
of 12 years! The tale need not, be -believed, but it will convey an
idea of the extent of the works. There are excavations on all sides of
the idols, and in the larger one half a regiment might find quarters.
3s
Digiti
zed by G00gle
562 On the Colossal Idols of Bamidn. [Not.
Bamidn is subject to Cabul, and would appear to be a place of high
antiquity ; it is perhaps the city which Alexander founded at the base of
Paropamisus before entering Bactria. The country indeed from Ci-
bul to Balkh is yet styled ' Bakhtar-zamin/ or the Bakhtar coon*
try. The name of Bamidn is said to be derived from its elevation,
' Bam* signifying balcony, and the affix 'tan/ country. It may be
so called from the caves rising over one another in the rock.
There are no reliques of Asiatic antiquity which have more roused the
curiosity of the learned than the colossal idols of Bamidn. It is fortunately
in my power to present a drawing of these images. They consist of two
figures, a male and a female ; the one named Salsa l, the other Shah
Mama. The figures are cut in alto relievo in the face of the hill,
and represent two colossal images. The male is the largest of the two,
and about 120 feet high. It occupies a front of 70 feet, and the niche
in which it is excavated extends about that depth into the hill. This
idol is mutilated, both legs having been fractured by cannon, and the
countenance above the mouth is destroyed. The lips are very large,
the ears long and pendent, and there appears to have been a tiara oa
the head. The figure is covered by a mantle, which hangs over it in
all parts, and seems to have been formed of a kind of plaster, and the
image has been studded in various places with wooden pins to assist in
fixing it. Tne figure itself is without symmetry, and there is no ele-
gance in the drapery. The hands which held out the mantle have been
both broken.
The female figure is more perfect than the male, and has been
dressed in the same manner. It is cut out of the same hill, at the
distance of 200 yards, but is not half the size. One could not discover
that her ladyship was not a brother or a son of the twin colossus, but
for the information of the natives. The drawing which is attached
will convey better notions of these idols than a more elaborate de-
scription. The square and arched apertures which appear in the
plate represent the entrance of the different caves or excavations, and
through these there is a road which leads up to the summit of both
the images. In the lower caves the caravans to and from Cabml
generally halt, and the upper ones are used as granaries by the com-
munity.
I have now to note the most remarkable curiosity in the idols of
Bamidn. The niches of both have been at one time plastered and or-
namented with paintings of human figures, which have now disappeared
from all parts but that immediately over the heads of the idols. Here
the colours are as vivid and the paintings as distinct as in the Ejgyp-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1883.] On the Colossal Idol* of Bamidn. 669
tian tombs. There is little variety in the design of these figures, which
represent the bust of a woman with a knot of hair on the head and a
plaid half over the breast, the whole surrounded by a halo, and the head
again by another halo. In one part I could trace a group of three
female figures following each other. The execution of the work is
bad, and by no means superior to the pictures which the Chinese make
in imitation of an European artist.
The traditions of the people regarding the idols of Bamidn are
vague and unsatisfactory. It is stated that they were excavated
about the Christian era by a tribe of kaffirs (infidels), to represent a
king named Salsal and his wife, who ruled in a distant country, and
was worshipped for his greatness. The Hindus assert them to have
been excavated by the Pandus, and that they are mentioned in the
great epic poem of the Mahdbhdrat. Certain it is that the Hindus
on passing these idols at this day hold up their hands in adoration,
though they do not make offerings, which may have fallen into disuse
since the rise of Islam. I am aware that a conjecture attributes
these images to the Buddhists, and the long ears of the great figure
make it probable enough. I do not trace any resemblance to the co-
lossal figures in the caves of Salsette near Bombay, but the shape of
the head is not unlike that of the great trifaced idol of Elephanta.
At Manikeala, in the Panjdb, near the celebrated ' Tope/ I found a
glass or cornelian antique which exactly resembles this head. In the
paintings over the idols I discover a close resemblance to the images of
the Jain temples in Western India, in mount Abu, and at Girvan and
PalUana in Katywar. I judge the figures to be female, but they are very
rude, though the colours in which they are sketched are bright and
beautiful. There is nothing in the images of Bamidn to evince any
great advancement in the arts, or what the most common people
might not have executed with success. They cannot certainly be referred
to the Greek invasion, nor are they mentioned by any of the histori-
ans of Albxandbb's expedition. I find in the history of Timourlanb,
that both the idols and excavations of Bamidn are mentioned by
Shbbi'f do Din, his historian. The idols are described to be so high that
none of the archers could strike the head. They are called Lab and
Manab, two celebrated idols which are mentioned in the Koran ; and
the writer also alludes to the road which led up to them from the in-
terior of the hill* There are no inscriptions at Bamidn to guide us
in their history, and the whole of the later traditions are so mixed up
with Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammbd, who we well know never came
into this part of Asia, that they are most unsatisfactory. It is by no
3 d 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
564 Account of the Earthquake at Katkntandi. [Nov.
means improbable that we owe the idols of Bamid* to the caprice of
some person of rank, who resided in this cave-digging neighbourhood,
and sought for an immortality in the colossal images which we have
now described.
II. — Account of the Earthquake at Kathmandu. By A. Campbell, Esq.
Assistant Surgeon, attached to the Residency. V ^V
On the 26th of August last, about 6 o'clock p. m. a smart shock of
earthquake was experienced throughout the valley, and the neigh-
bouring hills, westward in the valley of Nayakot and Ddny Byas ;
eastward at Panouti, Baneppa, Dulkele, and Pholam Ch6k ; and south-
ward at Chitlong, Chisagarhy, Etounda, and Bissoulea. The shock
was preceded by a rumbling noise from the eastward. The motion
of the earth was undulatory, as of a large raft floating on the ocean,
and the direction of the swell was from north-east towards south-
west. The shock lasted about 1 minute. At 10-45* p. m. of the
same day another shock of equal duration and of the same character
occurred, and at 10-58, a third and most violent one commenced : at
first it was a gentle motion of the earth, accompanied by a slight rum-
bling noise ; soon however it increased to a fearful degree, the earth,
heaved as a ship at sea, the trees waved from their roots, and houses
moved to and fro far from the perpendicular. Horses and other cat-
tle, terrified, broke from their stalls, and it was difficult to walk with-
out staggering as a landsman does on ship-board. This shock lasted
for about three minutes in its fullest force. And the following is as cor-
rect an estimate as can be ascertained (without official documents) of
the damage done by it to life and property throughout the great valley
and neighbouring districts of Nipal. It is believed that the two first
shocks were harmlessf.
* Not by chronometer, but by a good-going clock, which stopped during the great
shock. Its pendulum vibrated north and south. [If the clock was set by the
sun, the shock must have been 51m. earlier than in Calcutta. — Ed.]
f Doctor Campbell's subsequent letters inform us, that there have been frequent
shocks of less violence since the above, many of which (on the 4 th and 18th Oct.
particularly) were felt at Calcutta, Monghyr, Chittagong, Allahabad, and Jabalpur,
nearly simultaneously. On the 26th Oct. he writes, " At 10b. 45m. a. m. a sharp
shock of the dangerous or undulating kind occurred. The embassy has retained
from China, and I am informed that the great shock was not felt at Lassa, so that
it would appear to have been confined to India within the Himalaya." — En.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Account of the Earthquake at Kathmandu.
Number of Lives lost and Buildings destroyed.
565
Places.
Temples and other Buildings.
British Residency
grounds,
City of Kathmandu,
South of Capital.
Patan, . . .
Sano gaon, •
Harra Siddhi,
Tesbu gaon .... ..
Selli gr.on, ....
Pagah,
Kuknab,
Baghra&tf ,
Phurphing,
Chappa gaon,
Peamr, * • .
Taibu,
Bara gaon,
Bali,
Pahon,
Sasanelly,
L6b6,
Sana,
Hills about Sasanel-
iy
none
60
6
none
it
II
1
o
o
o
o
none
38
East of Kathmandu
in the valley.
Deo Patan,
Handi gaon
Nag Desa,
Bareh*,
Teini,
Gou Karan, ....
Changu,
Saukhu, 20
Bhat gaon, ,
East of Kathmandu
beyond the valley,
hut in the immediate
neighbourhood.
Sangu
Baneppa,.
Nala gaon,
Panouti,
Dulkele,.
200
3
(i
i
5
104
1 none.
400; Two pillars, built by the minister, each up-
. wards of 100 feet biirh : the large Temple of
jjagarnath, built by Ran Bahadur, after seven
285 years labour, and about a dozen temples, de-
40 stroyed. The modern-built garden houses of
20 several members of the minister's family have
25 been rendered untenantable ; one of them, a
1(» handsome aud ornamental editice, has come to
24 the ground.
130J
80 1 A crack in the ground of 20 feet in length
8 was observed at this village on the morning
35 of the 27th ; the entire number of houses in it
8|Was 206, more than a third of the whole were
18 destroyed, and about 100 men have been much
35 damaged. The injury sustained here is pro-
3 portionally greater than in any other part not
3 to the east of Kathmandu.
2
25
7
20
30
At the eastern extremity of Deo Patan is
the Temple of Paspatnath, containing Pus-
puti Jee, the patron deity of the Brahmin ical
20jinhabitants of Nipal. The building escaped
20 unhurt to the great joy of the rulers and
20 people of the land, who attribute the cir-
ISOjCiunstance solely to the interference of the
8 blind goddess, in behalf of their favourite
god, rather than to the stout deposition of
brick aud mortar.
A fine old temple destroyed.
A handsome Temple of Mabadeo, situated
on a hill above Sankhu, is reduced nearly to
ruins.
The total number of houses in Bhat gaon is
reckoned by Mr. Hougsox at 4,700, 3th of
the town is said to be destroyed, 2,000 is the
average of many accounts, six or eight tine
temples destroyed, and a statue of Rajah Rax-
jit Mall, one of the Newar Princes of the
Bhat gaon division of the valley.
2000
8
20
11
19
2]
300
Six persons were killed under the ruins of
one house in this village, their remains were
found where they had gone to sleep.
A fine temple destroyed here.
Phulain Chok, .... 60
• One woman became Sattl at this village, her husband having been killed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
*6Q
Account of the Earthquake of Kathm a n dd .
[Not.
Places.
Temples and other Buildings.
North-east of the vat-
ley and more remote
Dhulaka,
Mundun Pahar, ....
Kan Sing Clink, . .
Kassa,
Kuti,
Listi gaon, . . .
Shipa — the conn
try residence of Co
lonel Runbir Sinh
20 miles from Kath
mandu on the Lassa
road, by the Kuti
Pass, is seriously in
jured. Many small
houses attached were
destroyed and seve
ral lives lost.
West of Kathmund&
Swambunath,.. . .
Hal Chok,
Narod Devi, ....
Changu Nar&yan, . .
GoorkhaCantonment
or Campoo,.. . ,
Kirtipur,
Thankote,
West of the valley.
Duny Byas and
neighbouring hills,
Tewanpur,
Nayakoth, ....
North of Kathmandti
Dharmtulf ,
Hukm gaon, ....
Toka goan,
Burha Nil Kanth,
Chapaly,
Dhartnpur,
South qfthe valley
Chitlong,
Chisagarhy,
Mukwanpur,.
Total, ,
114
172
40
10
In this direction the earthquake was much
more severely felt. Kuti, a town on the
Bhote frontier, on the road to Lasaa, is
said to have been nearly all destroyed, it con-
tained about 600 houses ; 50 of which only
remain. At Listi gaon, also on the Bhote
frontier, a larjre portion of a hill came down,
and an iron bridge was destroyed.
At Kan Sing Choke, in the same direction,
vulgar report says, that for five days before
the earthquake look place, noises similar to
the firing of cannons were heard as if under
ground : and in this neighbourhood the hteh
road to Lassa is said to be in many places
blocked up by the fallen earth from the
mountains.
One small temple destroyed, and the large
one a little injured. The form of the large
one must have preserved it. It is the chief
Buddhist Temple in the valley, built in the
fashion of that religion — an immense cir-
cular mound of brick work, surmounted by
a 4-sided spire or jweet.
The house of a Captain much injured here.
Contains 532 houses, and is built along the
ridge and browofa hill 300 feet higher than the
surrounding part of the valley. Its tenements
are old and frail. To account for its escape,
the inhabitants say, " That some nights previ-
ous to the earthquake, and on the memorable
night itself, a large tiger or leopard paraded
several streets of the town, without molest-
ing any of the inhabitants. This forbearance
was reciprocal, for the " guardian angel" was
allowed to continue his protecting visits : the
admiring crowd, firm in the belief of correct
vision, hailed him as Ramji', another incarna-
tion of the " great preserver."
4040
The fort here much injured : a large portion
of the breastwork facing the south has fallen,
and the wall in many other places, although
not fallen, is seriously injured.
The fort here has also suffered, but in a
much less degree than the one at Chisapany.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Population of the City of Murshedabad. 567
The above shews that the earthquake was rauoh more severe to the
north and east of the valley than here ; and that even within the
valley it was much more violent to the east of Kathmandd than at
the capital itself, or other places to the west of it. The town of Bhat
0|pM is not more than eight miles in a straight line from KathmamdU,
and even there its violence most have greatly exceeded what it was at
the latter place. To account for the immense disproportion in the loss
of life and property at both places, something may be allowed for the
more frail state of the buildings at Bhat gaon; but this is not sufficient*
and this circumstance must be considered as inexplicable as most
others attending this fearful phenomenon. The br ah mans of Nipal
say (and it is believed with truth) that the occurrence of a more vio-
lent earthquake than this is recorded in their histories. It was
about 600 years ago, and then the cities of Mangah, Patan, and innu-
merable towns were utterly destroyed and thousands of their inhabi-
tants killed* : the modern capital Kathmandd did not then exist.
III. — Census of the Population of the City and District of Murshedabad,
taken in 1829.
To the five or six accurate estimates which we possess of the popu-
lation of the cities of India, we are happy to be able now to add one
of Murshedabad, both city and district, which we owe to the private
or ex-official industry of Mr. H. V. Hathorn, while magistrate of that
zillah in 1829. The detailed statements accompanying this officer's
letter to the Government will be published without doubt in the Trans-
actions of the Asiatic Society, to wbich body they have besn trans-
ferred : we proceed however, as on former occasions, to offer an abridg-
ed analysis of the tables, that the readers of the Journal may be in
possession of all the accurate statistical knowledge of India furnished
from authentic data. How easy would it be for every officer in charge
• The Jyotithit Bay that the planets Jupiter and Saturn were at the occurrence
of this present one in the same situation as when the above destructive one hap-
pened. From this greater mischief was for many days after the 26th hourly ex-
pected, and many lucky moments were fixed upon by the said astrologers for the
catastrophe ; but all fortunately have come to nought, and although slight shocks
continued to recur until about the 15th instant, no addition has been made to the
effects of the one great paroxysm of the 26th.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
568
Population of the City of Afurshedabad.
(Nov.
of a town or a zillah to employ a few of the leisure hoars of his
police in framing reports of a similar nature.
Mr. Hathorn describes his mode of proceeding as follows :
•• The work was done under my personal superintendence, through
the medium of the Darogas, who were furnished with blank forms,
accompanied with particular instructions as to the mode to be adopt-
ed in estimating the establishment of natives of rank and respectabi-
lity, in order to be as accurate as possible in point of numbers, and at
the same time to avoid giving offence by requiring a detailed state-
ment of their dependants of both sexes." " I regret that my sudden
departure from Murshedabad, in 1829, and my absence in England, for
a period of three years, on account of health, has prevented me from
revising and submitting these papers at an earlier period."
Population of the City of Murshedabad.
Names of Thannas.
Number of Houses.
Musnl- Hindu,
man.
Mura gowar,
Ptil Hasan Ullah Khan,
Man Ullah bazar, ....
Rata Bazar,
Akhara Ramshah, ....
Mohe*mpur,
Gundftala,
Naklakhalf,
Shahnagar,
Jan Mahomed pur,. . . .
Kasim bazar,
Kalkanur,
Suja ganj
Ranisar,
Mahajan tola,
Rajbart,
Asanpura,
Berhampur,
Fort,
Total of the City, ....
Add for strangers,
Total population, ....
156
1161
337
1600
330
322
1323
625
788
1375
491
422
566
369
269
939
290
a39
2049
14281
Total.
No. of Inhabitants
300
936
1551
1122
2978
1196
752
693
897
1849
809
778
2887
1749
1551
1979
1892
1279
749
25837
456
2127
1888
2722
3308
1518
2075
1218
1685
3224
1300
1200
3453
2118
1820
2918
2172
2118
2798'
40118
Musul-
935
4780
1841
4914
1390
1174
2871
1825
4000
5820
1325
1602
2408
1653
843
2510
3043
4832
8324
56090
Hindus.
1557
3654
5557
3425
12132
3854
1627
1760
2282
5330
2213
2314
12010
6554
2146
5356
3109
7322
7984
90086
males.
Proportion of sexes, Musulraans, 28442
Hindus, 44438
Number of inhabitants per house, Musulmans, 3.90
Hindus, 3.48
Average of the whole, 3.66
Total.
2492
8334
7398
8339
13522
5028
4498
3585
6282
11150
3638
3916
14418
8207
2989
7866
6152
12154
16308
146176
787
146963
females.
27648
45648
Digitized by
Google
1833.] List of Birds, *c.
Population of the District of Murshedabad.
569
Number of Inhabi-
Names of
Number
Number of houses
tants.
Thannas.
of villages
in each.
Musul-
man.
Hindu.
Total.
Musul-
mans.
Hindus.
Total.
Gokaru, ....
149
2666
7724
10390
12771
38045
50816
Gowas, ....
87
8395
5427
13822
46716
27653
74369
Khara,
114
3702
3413
7115
17863
16070
33933
Sulatabad, . .
158
5612
6904
12516
25368
30836
56204
Soti,
128
3021
1795
4816
28499
6163
34662
Harharpara,
86
3862
7290
11152
16282
36827
53109
Gorindpur, . .
121
1988
6166
8154
12305
27159
39464
Sharoherganj,
87
8395
5427
13822
40416
27023
67439
Kalyanganj,..
113
868
4626
5494
4444
21865
26309
Nowadah, . .
33
1782
2732
4514
10460
12311
22771
Jalinghi ....
73
3944
3619
7563
19197
20598
39795
Chendaga • .
70
613
2302
2915
2820
10102
12922
Ranltalao, ..
157
5780
6733
12513
34649
34768
69417
Bhadrihat, ..
129
1269
3904
5173
5890
15500
21390
Banwa, ....
104
5080
10739
15819
16441
48012
64453
Mirzapur, . .
168
2862
10682
13544
14576
51615
66191
Dewansaray,
141
4483
4634
9117
21831
22375
44206
Bhartpur, . .
152
6131
3541
9672
26198
18302
44500
Total of the
district, . .
2070
70453
■ 97658
168111
356726
1 465224
[ 821950
Add for strangers or non-residents,,
534
832484
Males, Females.
Proportion of sexes, Musulmans, 188036 168696
Hindus, 241710 223514
429746 392210
Total of the Town and District, Houses, 208229
Inhabitants, 969447
Ratio of inhabitants per house, 4.73
IV. — List of Birds, collected in the Jungles of Borabhum and Dholbhum.
By Lieut. S. R. Tickell, Z\st Regt. N. I. K !^
1. Falco Lath ami. Colvy Falcon? Latham. Male. From head to
tip of tail 18 inches, breadth of wings 40 inches ; eyes orange yellow,
bill and cere bluish, top of head in front grey, sinciput pale orange-
brown ; feathers streaked dark and produced into a long horizontal
crest, the end feathers of which are black, tipped with white ; face and
auriculars ashy ; back of neck and top of back, pale rusty ; feathers
centered dark-grey brown ; whole of back, scapulars, primaries, and
part of tertials, dark clouded rich brown ; coverts of wings pale rusty,
clouded grey-brown, and blotched with white spots; some of the tertials
3 B
zed by G00gle
570 List of Birds, collected in the Jungles [Not.
the same, greater coverts reddish ash-brown ; tail dart greyish brown,
barred broadly with dark brown* and tipped obscurely white (as are
the tertials), under parts white ; streak of black down centre of throat,
neck white tinged rusty, broad bars of rusty on breast and belly, spots
of the same on thighs ; legs clothed with short white feathers to the
feet, which are of a horny color ,- exposed part of the tarsi reticulated,
claws black and solid. The head is broad, eyes protruding, crest
erectile, bill with scarcely any notch, legs short and stout, body mus-
cular and compact.
This subject was killed at Sisdah, in Borabham, in dense bambu
jangle, occupying the interval between two ranges of hills. It was
one of a pair ; the other, probably the female, appeared larger and
showed more white on the wing. They perched high on the summits
of tall decayed trees, and uttered wild plaintive screams. (The only
specimen seen.)
2. — {Honey Buzzard?) Length 19 inches, spread of wings 44. Fe-
male. Eyes yellow, bill blue, lores green, top of head, nape, and sides
of chin, (at base of the bill,) white, streaked brown ; whole upper
parts uniform clear ambre-brown, brightest on wings, dunnish on back,
upper tail coverts pale rusty and whitish grey. Tail a hoary gull
grey, primaries do. but darker and bluer : some of the outer ones
nearly black, 3rd quill longest ; under part a clear reddish brown, legs
yellow. (Tarsi reticulated.) Killed at Kosmak, in Borabhtim, in thick
grass jungle, perching on the ground. Stomach contained lizards.
It was in company with the annexed.
3. *Falco Herbacola. Kohee Falcon, T. Female. Length 18
inches, breadth 39. Aspect keen, body light and elegant, tail and
wings long, tarsi elongated ; bill blue, tipped black, eyes dark, lores
and legs yellow ; eyebrows, forehead, patch under the eye, and an
indistinct ring round the neck, whitish ; whole upper parts pale brown,
margined as in our female Kestrel (F. Tinnunculus), greater coverts
dark lead brown, primaries brownish hoary grey, banded dark brown ;
upper tail coverts white, with reddish brown crescent-shaped marks ;
tail, two middle feathers full hoary grey, two next do. melting into
rusty towards their shafts, outer ones pale rusty greyish white, the
whole broadly bunded with sepia ; upper half of outside tail-feathers
banded rusty and white : all the feathers tipped white- Breast, belly,
vent, &c. striped brown and fawny white as in female Kestrel.
• The names of such birds, as hare nerer come under my notice before, and are
necessarily of my own coining, I hare distinguished by the addition of a T.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] of Borabhum and Dholbhum. 57 1
This and the foregoing species appeared tolerably common in those
immense tracts of grass jangle which extend with little intermission
from near the Kossai river, to the base of the Lakisinnf hills, in Su-
trakehanf. They perch on the ground, or on the small babul trees
which are interspersed among the jungle, occasionally soaring with a
low steady flight over the top of the grass, in quest of prey. They are
called by the Hindus inhabiting those regions, " Shahfn" and
•• Kohi/' and are much prized by the Coles for their hawking qualifi-
cations. The stomach of the present subject contained greater part of
a Myna.
4. Falco Nisosimilis. Jungle Sparrow-Hawk, T. Size and
shape of English sparrow-hawk, upper parts and head a dun -brown ;
upper tail coverts pale obscure brown ; tail as back, with four cloudy
bands, tipped lighter ; quills as back, eyebrows and forehead white ;
feathers tipped dark, auriculars, cheeks, and throat white with short
brown stripes. Breast, belly, and thighs white, with transverse brown
streaks, vent white. Thigh feathers each a little lower than knee, legs
and toes long and slender as in sparrow-hawk. Bill and cere pale
bluish, lore with dirty white bristles. Eyes pale gold, legs yellow,
(tarsi scutellated) : wings reach to the middle of tail, 4th and 5th quills
longest. Eyes operculated by the brow as in F. Nisus. Male. Sto-
mach contained lizards. Killed at Marcha, in Borabhum. Frequents
topes and cultivation.
5. Strix Dumbticola. Jungle Horned Owl, T. Male. From head
to end of tail I feet 9 inches, spread of wings 4 feet 4. Eyes deep
gold, bill black, legs horny, and bare ; claws black : whole upper parts,
face, and crest pale brown ; feathers centred darker, wings do. mottled
with grey and blotched occasionally white ; primaries and tail pale-
brown, barred darker. Breast, belly, thighs and vent tawny-white,
barred transversely with rusty and striped longitudinally dark brown.
Frequents the thickest jungle, in deep retired dells, between high
rocks or scarped hills, perching low and passing the midday in the
centre of some impervious thicket. It is however partially diurnal,
and easily flushed in the brightest day, when it flies heavily over the
underwood to a short distance, and drops headlong into the first conve-
nient bush. Towards twilight, it emerges from its concealment, and
may be observed seated with great majesty on the summit of some
granite boulder, on the side of a hill overlooking the surrounding
jungle. Its voice is hoarse and hollow, and connected with the gloo-
my scene and hour in which it is heard, the repulsive laugh in which
it occasionally vents its notes " Haw, Haw, Haw, Ho 1" cannot fail
3 s 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
572 List of Birds, collected in the Jungles [Nov.
to strike a fanciful listener with unpleasing associations. I met with
two of this species near Sfsdah in Borabhum, probably a solitary
pair, and have placed it as a new addition to the Strix family, as it
differs essentially from any yet described by Pennant, Latham, or
Hardwickb, as found in India.
6. Strix Candidus, Jungle Owl. T. Male. From head to tail
16 inches, spread of wings 3 feet 4. Eyes black, bill and legs horny,
tarsi denuded : whole upper parts shaded with dark and light brown,
as in the short-eared owl, the feathers indiscriminately sprinkled with
clear white spots ; primaries and tail tawny-brown, broadly barred
darker, radial feathers of face, breast, belly and vent pure white.
This species frequents the long grass jungle, and passes its life almost
entirely on the ground, seldom perching on the lowest trees. When
flushed, it rises heavily, and drops again into the grass, as suddenly as
if shot. It is silent and solitary, the young keep in company some time
after attaining their full growth. The jungle owl is found through-
out Bengal and the upper provinces in tracts of long grass, to which it
appears wholly confined. Male and female scarcely differ.
7. Strix Radiata. Little barred Owl, T. (St. Castanoptera ?
Horse. Java.) Male. Length 7| inches, breadth 18 ; 4th quill longest.
Bill greenish horn. Eyes gold, feet and claws horny, slightly feather-
ed to the claws. Face, head, and upper parts pale amber-brown, clearest
on head, greyest on scapulars and back, the whole barred with dull
sepia ; greater wing coverts black, the outer webs of the feather white
mixed with rusty, edges of wing chesnut, barred brown ; alula spuria
and primaries do. barred black ; edges of scapulars have greyish white
patches. Tail dark coppery brown, barred pale rusty ; breast as
black but paler, the brown changing to griseous white towards the
belly and thighs ; the whole under parts barred dingy sepia. Very com-
mon in the thickly-wooded parts of the Jungle Mehals, selecting
the largest trees for its abode, from whence it keeps up its clamorous
cries the greater part of the day. It is active, frolicksome, and diur-
nal, and feeds on insects.
8. Strix Lugubris. Brown Wood Owl, T. Male. In length 12
inches, breadth 2 feet 2. Eyes gold, bill and legs horny, tarsi and toes
feathered, whole upper parts dull uniform brown. Beneath whitish,
barred rusty ; primaries and tail, leaden brown, barred broadly darker.
Inhabits the retired parts of the thickest jungle, coming towards the
edges and open parts at night. It is completely nocturnal, and in a
calm moon-light night, its incessant cries are heard to a great dis-
tance, resembling strongly those of a strangling cat. The only speci-
men seen was killed at Dampara, in Dholbhum.
zed by G00gle
1833.] of Borabhum and Dhotbhtm. 573
9. Lanius Silbns. Silent Shrike, T. 9 inches from tip of bill to
tip of tail, of which tail 4. Wings spread 14J inches, 3rd quill long-
est ; eyes hazle, bill and legs black, plumage iron-grey, quills darkest ;
upper mandible slightly notched. Young bird is marked on the
under parts with indistinct transverse bars. Common. Frequenting
topes and large trees.
10. Ixos Virbscbns ? Temminck. Male. Size of a starling. Eyes
blood-red, feet and bill dark, body plump, olive-green, palest on head,
where it is slightly greyish, tinged with yellow on upper tail coverts,
quills and their coverts do. edged brighter green ; tail as back, long,
square ; vent and under tail coverts, chin and base of lower mandible pale
clear yellow ; over the eye, and a spot on base of upper mandible, ex-
tending below the eye to the auricular s, obscure white ; lower parts
whitish tinged pale yellow ; breast dashed with grey, bill deeply
notched.
Killed in woody and barren country, at Bamireah, near Midna*
pur : appeared shy, silent and solitary, and partakes of the nature of
the fly-catchers and thrushes. It flew and settled about the lower
parts of bushes and thickets. Stomach contained berries and seeds.
11. Drongo Ccerulescins. Fork-tailed Shrike, Latham? Male.
Shape and size of the smaller " King Crow." Head gross, bill hooked*
not notched ; eyes orange -red, bill and feet black, tail deeply forked,
as long as the body ; whole of upper parts dull metallic-black, deepest
on head, brownest on quills ; chin, throat, and breast iron-grey, below
sternum white. Female does not differ. Frequents high timber, and is
tolerably common. Note a wild mellow whistle, pleasingly and fan-
cifully modulated. Insectivorous.
12. Lanius Grisbus. Grey Wood Shrike, T. Male. Length 6£
inches, ashy-brown above, dull- white beneath ; bill, eyes, and legs dark ;
mandible hooked, not notched ; two centre feathers of tail as back, two
next black, outer ones white ; dark brown patch through the eyes, a
white one above them, obscure brown mark from under mandible ;
breast tinged dusky reddish ash. Shy, solitary, rather rare, frequents
saul jungle, has a jarring note.
13. Vang a Flavivbntris. Yellow Bulbul, T. (Lanius Melano-
cephalus ? Gml. Turdoides A triceps. Tern. ?) Male. Length 7 inches.
Eyes pale yellow, bill black, legs dark horn. Head and a slender
erectile crest glossy-black, rest of plumage olive-green above, clear
olive-yellow beneath ; belly and vent bright yellow, quills and tail
dusty. Frequented the beautiful hanging-woods of Dampara, in Dhol-
bhum, where alone I met with them. Manners sprightly, hurrying
from tree to tree, with a short repeated song, like the common bulbul.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
574 List of Birds, collected in the Jungles [Nor.
14. Crinigkb Splxndkns, T. (Irena Puella,? Horaf. Edolius ?of
Natterer.) The bill totally dissimilar to the Drongo, with which
Irena and Edolius are grouped. It is long, hooked equally in both
mandibles, nostrils denuded, and more like the bill of the Chough than
any other bird. The chief peculiarity of the bird is a crest, composed
of long recumbent hairs, which ride from the head and fall back on the
shoulders. The tail is long, slightly forked ; the ends of the outer
feathers turned up, in the shape of a scoop. In other respects it re-
sembles the Drongo. The plumage is deep black, reflecting purple
and blue in various lights ; the wings are a deep glassy-green. These
birds are tolerably numerous, but confined in locality. They frequent
the large timber, which luxuriates in the lower portions and richer soil
of the jungles, on the banks of nullas, tanks, &c. : the cotton tree,
when in blossom, is a favorite resort, where they may be seen in small
parties frolicking about. The voice is very changeable and in constant
exertion, from a beautiful song, to whistling, chattering, and creaking,
like a rusty wheel. The notes at times resemble the higher strains of
an organ, and heard in the wild and lovely scenes where this bird is
found, appear singularly striking and plaintive.
15. Muscicapa Ttrannidbs. Shrike-like Fig-catcher, T. Male.
Length 4 inches. Eyes orange-hazle, bill and feet black. Bill flat*
broad, long, straight, hooked, not notched. Head, nape of neck, back,
wings and tail, black ; rump, wing coverts, and line along tertials, and a
broad streak along auriculars, from base of bill, white. Breast and
belly pale silvery grey. Outer tail-feather white. Killed at Sfsdah in
Borabhdm. Rare, frequents high timber, has a slight song.
16. Muscicapa Princeps, Cuvier;3f. Miniita. Temmink. Rare.
Indiscriminately spread through the jungles. Sometimes solitary, at
others, flying in small parties. (Figured in Gould's Century of Birds.)
17. M. Hyacintha, Temmink. Size of a Robin. Male. Upper
parts, wings, and tail ashy Antwerp-blue ; between the eye and beak a
dark space. Chin and breast buff-color, rest white. The colors are
paler, but distributed not unlike those of the American blue Robin.
Rare, silent, frequenting high trees : killed at Lika in Borabhum.
18. Muscicapa Occipitalis. Common in all parts of the jungles.
19. M. Cjbrulia. Common.
20. M. Maculata. Pied Fly-catcher. Linn. Marked the same as
the subject mentioned in Bewick. Rare.
21. M. Peregrin us. Pants ? Figured in Gould. Common in the
jungles. In manners closely resembling our long-tailed titmouse. The
males unite in flocks apart from the males at the close of the cold
Reason.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] of Borabfo'tm and Dhelbhum. 575
22. Motacilla Sylvatica, T. Rare, shy, found in low, barren
saui jungle ; black, with white wing covers, small.
23. M. Luzonia. Numerous, frequenting high timber near nul-
las, Ac. well known in Bengal as Indian Robin.
24. Tukdus Macrocrus, Vaillant ? Shahmour Warbler. 9j inches
long, of which tail 5 ; plumes glossy-brack, tail cuneiform ; outer fea-
thers tipped white. Upper tail coverts white, lower part of breast and
belly deep chesnut, eyes and belly black, legs fleshy horn. The Shah-
mour is well known and justly prized in India for its song, which in
its native jungles is heard in a degree of perfection, to which the notes,
when encaged, can bear little comparison. It is spread throughout
the jungles, and haunts the deepest glades and hollows, keeping in the
centre of thickets. In the grey mornings and evenings the notes are
heard through the valleys, ceasing with twilight. The song of the
Shahmour is fully equal in compass, power, depth and modulation to
that of the Nightingale. The strains sweep with a gush of sweetness
through the enchanting solitudes which this bird makes its favourite
resort, at times when the other inhabitants of the forests are silent in
rest. And in unison with the surrounding scenery, in which nature
seems to have lavished every fantastic invention of beauty, the effect
produced on the mind and ear can alone be appreciated by those who
have- witnessed the magnificence of a tropical forest.
25. (Motacilla Suecica, Blue-throated Warbler. Linn ?) (Sylvia
Cyanecula, Meyer ?) Male. Size and shape of Redstart, whole upper
parts dark olive-brown, feathers of the crown centered darker, with a
white patch over the eyes as in Whinchat. Eyes, bill, and legs dark
horn, throat cobalt. The space from thence to the sternum is divided
into transverse portions of color. Uppermost a band of chesnut-
brown, then one of cobalt-blae, then white, and lastly chesnut again ;
below this all white ; on the centre of the neck, adjoining the blue and
chesnut of the throat, are two. confluent patches of white and dark
brown. A single specimen of this elegant species was seen and killed
at Bamirah near Midnapur, in wild bushy country.
26. Motacilla Calliope. Ruby-throat Warbler, Pallas. (Tardus,
apud Latham and Gml. : Accentor, apud Teraminck.) Male. Length
6 inches, plumage above olive-brown, beneath dull whitish. Band
above and below eyes white, intermediate space black, feathers of
throat slightly scaly (stiff and strongly scutellated) ; light scarlet with
silvery edges ; bill and legs horn, eyes dark. Rare, solitary, silent.
Haunts thickets and underwood. Found at Dampara in Dholbhum,
and at Jehanabad, west of Hoogly.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
576 List of Birds, collected in the Jungles [Nov.
27. M. Rubicapilla. Rusty-crowned Warbler, T. Female. 5
inches, eyes reddish hazle; bill and legs pale horn, crown of head rusty;
feathers of nostrils, over the eyes, auriculars and sides of neck, pale
yellowish green ; upper parts olive, throat and breast pale yellow,
shafted black. Found in the thick underwood, hollows, ravines, &c.
Lively and agile, with a frequent piping note and occasional chatter.
28. M. Cantator, Chiming Wren, T. 4 inches. Male. Eyes
hazle, upper mandible dark, lower pale orange ; legs pale horn, crown
black, with a longitudinal central yellow stripe ; black stripe through
eye and a yellow one over it ; throat bright yellow, extending towards
breast, lower parts lint-white, vent yellow ; plumage above, clear olive-
green. Frequents trees in the thickest parts of the jungle. Has a loud
and incessant note, " pio, pio, pio, pio." Bill rather gross, as in Win-
chat, not flattened, not hooked as in Regulus, slightly notched : nos-
trils large, oblong, almost pervious.
29. Sylvia Lonoicaudata. Long- tailed Warbler. Gml. (Malum*
of Veillot.) Male. 5 J inches, of which tail 2\, bill and eyes dark, legs
orange-horn color. Upper parts a pale dull brown, on face ashy.
Under parts satin-white ; quills and coverts pale clear brown ; tail ashy
brown, tipped obscurely black and then whitish ; wings much rounded
and short; first quill almost spurious, 5th and 6th longest ; tail cunei-
form. All the plumage waving and flimsy in texture, scarcely any
tail coverts. Common. Has a sprightly intermittent song, perching for
a time on the summit of a bush and then seeking thickest underwood.
Frequents barren saul jungle.
30. Motacilla Ofpinis. Olive Willow Wren, T. (Willow Wren?)
5 J inches. Male. Upper parts dark olivaceous ashy-brown. Beneath*
brownish yellow ochre. Clear yellow streak over eye. Upper man-
dible dark, lower pale horn : legs horn, eyes hazle. Killed in high-
timbered jungle, on the banks of a stream.
31. M. Dumbticola. Thicket Warbler, T. Male. Nearly 6 inches
long, eyes reddish hazle, bill as former subject, legs pale fleshy horn ;
crown dingy rust, face and over eyes dirty whitish brown, auriculars
darker. Whole of the plumage dull olive-brown, as in the thrush ; tail
slightly rounded, whole under parts white, streaked with the color of
back, throat white. Female and male alike. Frequents the thickest foli-
age, at the top of high trees, and is rarely seen. Has a monotonous
note, consisting of three sounds, which is heard incessantly during the
morning.
32. M. Fulicata. Sooty Warbler, Cuvier. (Bill in no way
allied to the groupe in which Cuvier has placed it.) Male. Size of a
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] of Borabhum and Dholbhtm. 577
robin. Upper parts doll dark brown ; under parts, including the eye,
burnished black ; greater wing coverts white, next greater ^s back,
but with a gloss of steel ; tail black, vent and centre of belly chesnut,*
quills of wings a deep claret-brown. Frequents low bushy jungle, and
has the manners of the stone chat. The bill however is cylindrical,
long, thin, partially curved, not unlike that of the house wren. Bill,
legs, and eyes dark.
33. M. Subviridis, T. Male. Allied to the M. Zeilonica of Horsf.
Bill and legs pale bluish horn, eyes hazle ; plumage above olive-green,
below olive-yellow ; wings black, edged yellow, greater coverts tipped
white, tail dark olive-green. Common in thick bambu or saul jungle,
on hills.
34. Turdus Lividus. Leaden Thrush, T. Head and neck pale
orange brown. Rest of plumage blue grey. Size of a redwing. Female
rather larger and duller in plumage. Shy, silent, solitary. Frequenting
thickets in rocky jungles. Killed at Lattapora, in Borabhum. Rare.
35. T. Unicolor, T. Size of preceding. Female. Eyes dark, bill
and legs yellow horn, plumage a dirty grey, mixed on the back with
olive, tinged on the head with brown. Wings and tail brownish ; co-
verts of tail iron-grey ; breast Isabella grey, belly white. Silent. Fre-
quents large trees. Rare. Killed at Bansfghar in Borabhum.
36. Oriolus M'Coshii, T. Male. Length 9 inches. Bill, feet,
and eyes black. Top of head black, each feather edged yellow ; fore-
head yellow, throat and front of neck white, streaked black. Rest
of body yellow ; coverts all centered black, quills brownish black, frin-
ged pale grey-yellow ; tail centered olive, tinge of olive on back.
Frequents the highest trees in open jungle cultivation, &c. Sings
beautifully. (The only specimen seen.)
37. Nbctbrinia Seheria, T. (Cunniris Gouldii?) Male. Length
4 inches. Crown burnished copper, with green reflections. Neck, back,
and breast, a deep blood carmine color. A stripe on each side the
throat, from the under mandible brilliant violet ; lower part of back
yellow ; tail coverts bright green, tail violet and green, blended with
metallic lustre ; quills dusky brown, belly and vent dusky ; eyes, bill, and
legs dark. This rare and elegant subject was procured near Seheria
in Borabhum, flitting about the low willow bushes in the dried bed
of a stream. It has no song, but a shrill chirp.
38. N. Minima, T. Male. Length 3 inches, plumage ashy olive,
paler beneath ; wings and tail brown. Common in saul jungle.
39. Chloropsis Cjwmarynchos. Hook-billed Chloropsis, Jardin.
Appears to be completely out of its place in Cuvier's arrangement. But
3 F
Digiti
zed by G00gle
578 List of Birds, collected in the Jungle* [Nor.
the description is scanty and ambiguous, and may possibly not refer to
the present subject. Male. Length 7£ inches. Bill as in warblers, bat
hooked throughout, (much, as in Certhia.) Toes, three before, one
behind ; plumage parrot-green, palest beneath; throat, part of cheek, and
forehead black ; a lilac spot by lower mandible, spot of bright blue on
humerus ; bill black, eyes hazle, legs pale bluish horn. It has a beau-
tiful song, and is common in the jungles, flying about in small parties.
Jt is an excellent mocker, and imitates the notes of almost every small
small bird of the country. (Frequently sold in cages at Calcutta and
Monghir.)
40. Emberiza Stlvatica. Bush Bunting, T. Very common
throughout India.
41 . Loxia Bicolor. Gobergosee Grosbeak. T. Male. Length 4£ inches.
Bill dark bluish, eyes hazle, legs dark ; breast, belly, and part of upper
tail coverts white; rest of plumage dense brown; tail black, cuneiform.
Flies in small flocks, with a low piping note, frequenting sugar fields,
low bushes. Fructivorous.
42. Fringilla Aoilis. Piping Finch, T. Four inches long ; plum-
age ashy-olive, with grey and greener portions ; below dull white
tail partially tipped white ; legs black, bill bluish, eyes orange.
Perched on summits of trees. Appeared lively and agile, with a sharp
clear whistle. Not uncommon.
43. Embbriza Olivacba. Kirwa Bunting, T. Male. Rather
larger than a sparrow. Olive-brown above, obscure white beneath ;
feathers of head and neck centered darker ; greater coverts dark brown,
tipped white ; tertials do. edged olive and tipped grey ; primaries and
tail dark-brown edged olive-green ; eyes hazle, bill bluish, legs flesh.
In flocks, on open cultivated land.
44. Fringilla Flavicollis. Chilliama Finch, T. Male. Size of
a sparrow, slighter, with longer bill and wings ; the same color as the
hen sparrow. Lesser coverts chesnut, throat white, a patch of yellow
immediately below, in front of neck.
45. Picus Guttacristatu8. Pearl-crested Woodpecker, T. (P.
Amantius, Horsf. Java ?) Female. Length 10£ inches, bill \\\ eyes am-
ber yellow, bill blackish horn, legs pale blue, forehead dusty brown ;
crest large, full, black, with round white spots ; neck white, with broad
longitudinal black stripes, one through eye, two narrower from max-
illary angle, confluent below auriculars, another down centre of neck;
front of neck, breast and belly, marbled black and white ; tail and quills
black; back and upper tail coverts pale bright scarlet, with subterja-
sent white bars ; rest of upper parts and coverts deep olive-gold color.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] of Borabhum and Dholbhum. 679
Common. Frequenting the largest timber, cotton trees, &c. Noisy, agile.
46. P. Bknoalknsis, Horsf. Differing merely from the foregoing
in having the crest red and the tail coverts the same as the back. Is
too well known in Bengal to require description.
47. P. Aurocristatus, T. Plumage and size scarcely differ from
that of the P. Medina of Bewick. The crest is of a golden-buff color,
with the extremity scarlet ; lower parts brown and white ; belly scar-
let. The male is £ larger than the female. The latter has the entire crest
golden-buff. Pretty common in thick jungles. Has a squeaking
monotonous note.
48. Sitta Frontalis. Swainson. S. Velata, Temminck. Ortho*
rynchus Frontalis, Horsf. Java. Does not differ from the description
given in Cuvier. Rare. The single specimen seen was procured at
Kankarjurf, near Dam para in Dholbhum. It flies and climbs about
the underwood with great rapidity, and is found in the thickest parts
of saul jungle.
49. Bucbros Malabaricus. Malabar Hornbill? Male. Length of
bill 7 inches ; of excrescence 8 ; from maxillary angle to end of tail
2 feet 3, of which, tail 1 foot 1 ; from tip to tip of wings, 3 feet 2.
Bill pale yellow, excrescence or horn black, with a broad lateral irre-
gular line of yellow, occupying nearly the whole of it ; pale, livid-fleshy
patch on the base of lower mandible ; eyelids ciliated, eyes scarlet ; feet
iron-grey, tarsi strong, thick, short, and scutellated ; from sternum
downwards, and all the feathers of the tail (except the two centre ones)
white ; rest of plumage shining metallic black.
These birds were very common in all the more open and large tim-
bered spaces in the jungles, frequenting in preference the pfepal trees,
the berry of which forms their principal food. The young continue with
the parent birds for many months, after leaving the nest ; hence these
hornbills are generally met traversing the forest in flocks of eight or ten.
They are shy and wary, and the voice loud, clanging, and harsh. The
horn is not developed till after the first year, the nestlings having the
bill plain and without any trace of excrescence. These birds are
never met with in the high rocky lands, nor in the barren tracts of
saul jungle, but abound in the rich meadows composing the valley of
the Subonrika, where the country in many parts has the appearance
of a well-cultured English park.
60. B. Ginoiakus. Gingi Hornbill. Very common in the same
haunts as the foregoing, and well known throughout India.
51. Bucco Limrata. Hackled Barbel, T. Male. Length 9 inches;
shape and manners of B. Lathami, (the well known green species.) Bill
3 f 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
580 List of Birds, collected in the Jungles [Nor,
and base space round eves orange ; eyes grey, feet horn ; head and
neck as far as breast, and back, brown with light shafts ; the feathers
narrow and pointed ; rest bright green, pale on belly.
52. Trooon Duvaucelii. Duvaucel's Curucui, Vaillant. This
most elegant subject is described in Cuvier. The solitary specimen
seen was killed near Dampara, Dholbhum. It frequents the thickest
jungle at the bottom of ravines and dried rocky nalas, flying from
tree to tree, with a wild querulous note, like the mewing of a cat. It
pursues and catches insects on the wing, like the Muscicapse : the
stomach of the present specimen was crammed with them. The bright
and glowing colors of this bird seem little suited to the gloomy depths
which are its resort. Those abodes of everlasting shade, where the
meridian sun barely penetrates, overhanging arches of vegetation, and
which are inhabited by undisturbed flocks of bats, owls, and night-jars,
afford a striking exception to the general rules of nature, which has
clothed in sombre garbs " the birds that shun the light," by har-
bouring so beautiful a tenant as the Curucui.
53. Caprimulous Albonotatus. Dampara Night-jar, T. Male
and female alike, larger than the common English night-jar, which it
closely resembles ; the plumage is greyer however, and it is distinguish-
ed by a large patch of white on the neck, two or three on the tertials,
and on the outer feathers of the tail. It is extremely common in the
jungles, keeping in thickets during the day, and coming out as evening
sets in, to the open parts, grass plains, and kht'ts, which it skims over
with a low silent flight. When on the wing it emits a low chirp, some-
thing like a sparrow. It has another and very peculiar note, when
seated on the top of some decayed tree, and which on a calm night may
be heard for a mile, sounding as if some one was striking a plank with
a hammer deliberately.
54. Hirundo Coronata. Dhudka Swallow, T. (H. Cristata of Le
Vaillant ?) Male. Length 8 inches, 1 ft. 1 across the wings ; cheeks
and base of lower mandible chesnut ; from eye to bill, black space ; head
adorned with a pointed, erectile crest, of a bluish clear grey, as are the
upper parts ; breast and belly do. paler ; wings and tail glossy black with
green reflections ; eyes, legs, and bill dark. The female has a smaller
crest, and instead of the chesnut mark on the face, a black patch, bor-
dered below with a white line. They fly in large flocks, but are partially
met with hovering over the marshy spaces in the jungles. The note
resembles the monotonous " Aria, kia" of the parrot. They disappear in
those regions by the end of March, but I never could trace the direc-
tion of their flight.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] of Borabhum and Dholbhdm. 581
55. Columba Stlvatica. Great Jungle -Pigeon, T. Length 13
inches. Eyes orange, feet rose-color, hill horny, bluish over the nostrils ;
head, breast, belly, a pale violaceous grey, with vinous tints ; upper
parts, wings, and tail, brilliant changeable-green, with purple and
coppery reflections. Common in some parts. Preferring the open and
large-timbered tracts. Wild and difficult of approach. They go gener-
ally in small parties of four or five. The voice is deep, and resembles
groans. Sexes alike.
56. C. Aoricola. Foxy-Pigeon, T. Male. Length 1 1 inches ; eyes
orange; bill and feet lake; head, neck, and breast reddish vinous brown ;
forehead and belly ashy blue ; back, coverts, and quills vinous chesnut,
each feather centred dark brown ; upper tail coverts iron-blue grey ; tail
dark-clouded brown, patch of black ; white-edged feathers on each side
the neck. Met with in open cultivated parts. Shy and difficult of
approach.
57. C. Javanica. Java Turtle? Male. Length 8 inches; tarsi
elongated as in the ground- turtle, nevertheless perches ; tail short,
rounded, fourth quill of primaries longest; crown, pale ashy-lilac, which
extends along the back of the neck to the back; white patch over eyes r
enclosing forehead ; rest of head, neck, breast, and belly vinous-grey r
with a rosy blush ; some of the feathers of the back black, edged green ;
lower down a broad bar of brown, edged black and white above and
below ; upper tail coverts blue-grey, primaries dusky-brown ; the rest
of wings a deep brilliant green, flashing gold in various lights ; tail
black, outer feathers white with black tip ; bill red, tipped black,
eyes black, legs flesh-color. This most elegant and diminutive species
haunts the most impervious parts of the jungle, and is seldom seen ex-
cept in the cool of evening, when it repairs to the open parts of
streams and meadows. Two specimens alone seen in the Jungle Mehals,
one of which, the female, differed merely in having the green of the
wings tarnished with copper.
58. The Stone or Norfolk Plover of Bewick, abounds in every open
tract in the jungles, coming out to feed at night.
59. Rallus Javanicus, T. (Gallinula Javanica, Horsf, Java.) Male.
Size and shape of the Parra aenea ; the claws however as in Gallinula.
Eyes blood-red ; bill pale green, with orange-colored ridge ; nostrils per-
vious ; whole upper parts, quills, and tail plain black, with greenish
reflections on the coverts ; belly, vent, under tail-coverts, dusky-red ;
inside of thighs dirty white, outside chesnut and dark-grey, legs
dusky. A solitary specimen seen at Tumcharararo, in Borabhum. Had
the same haunts and manners as the common Parra of Bengal*
Digiti
zed by G00gle
582 List of Birds, *<?. [Nor.
60. Parr a Arata. T. Male. Size and shape of P. seoea. Eyes dark
hade ; bill greenish born, upper mandible darker, nostrils pervious ; a
flap of detached skin on the forehead, crown deep bay or dark chesnut;
eyebrows light, face white ; from the back of the head, along the nape
of the neck, glossy purple-black, changing to lake and coppery purple
towards back ; throat and narrow strip in front, extending to middle of
neck, white ; rest of neck and breast pale buff; belly and vent white ;
back cupreous olive-green ; upper tail coverts and tail a burnt copper,
ish lake ; primary and secondary quills black ; tertials aa back, partly
fringed white ; greater coverts black, smaller coverts and scapulars as
back ; outer side of thighs, black aud white radiated ; inner white, flanks
black. Pretty common, in small marshy pools, overgrown with jungle.
A great variety of birds in addition to these, met with in the Jungle
Mehals, might be added to the list already enumerated ; but as they
are indigenous to the whole or various parts of Hindustan, and have
been described by former collectors, their insertion here would be a
useless repetition. Ornithological research, which has made such ex-
tensive progress into the heart of America, Africa, and the compara-
tively unknown regions of Australia, has as yet had little insight into
the productions of this country, especially in those parts which have
not been more immediately located by Europeans. Many of the most
rare and beautiful birds, inhabiting the Himalaya mountains and the
adjoining forest in the Teraye, have" been brought into notice by the
talents and spirited researches of one or two gentlemen ; but even sup-
posing their exertions would make us eventually acquainted with every
species found in those immense tracts, there yet would be left a wide
blank in our acquisitions, so long as the extensive, unknown, and
un visited portions of the Jungleterry districts remained shut out from
the inquiries of the naturalist. These regions, placed in a sensibly
warmer latitude than the Nipal forest; — differing in soil, in altitude,
in vegetable productions ; — presenting ever to the eye an altered,
a peculiar, appearance of scenery ; — rendered in parts uninhabitable
even to the half-humanized denizens of the jungles, from the in-
fluence of pestiferous exhalations, issuing more or less throughout
the year from abysses, overgrown by rank vegetation, where the
light of day seldom enters, and the cadaverous weeds, fixed in a
stagnant atmosphere, never wave in the refreshing breeze; — afford
asylums to the rarer and wilder animals of the forests, which few or no
human footsteps have invaded. The Trogon or Curucui (No. 52).
hitherto asserted as belonging alone to the interior of Africa, has been
found here. The Hippopotamus, also exclusively consigned to Africa,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
Jo urn As. See.
vtunu
Fossil j anient of art EtyharUjbund ruar Jabalfutr
"i
Dimensions
a b M'/sindus
e d 8'/»
f& 6
gwth jA 24 u\
yantormma
fat* fiuii bemu
Geological Sri* cfihefossd berus
SUiciffod Jbssil s?idljh>m, ]8milts
\sa,?C ofJ<U>cU/iur{/i. 2o5J
Vanity sjbssti shell
RgS.
ReoenC Land s?uHsjyom StiAot
Fy6
FUfJ
S/Uraat/ii/n lu^v/tultun*
iSyiim-fU/lusn /tartturv
+*STZ±
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Not fn FomU Bones near Jubdlpur. , .583
has been met with in the portion of jungle which extends into the
Bhil conn try*. The Gour, a species of bull, which by its. description
(as taken from a youftg one) must be the noblest in appearance of all
known animals, ranges the hilly portions of the jangles, defying pur-
suit. A snake, which by the testimony (exaggerated doubtless) of the
natives, must equal m dimensions the pythons of antiquity, inhabits
the low marshy recesses of the jungle. A flying squirrel, hitherto
nndescribed, is tolerably common; and lastly, from a casual glance
I once caught of an animal, in the thick and high woods bordering
the Gurum nala, near the valley of the Subonrika, it would be
the corroboration of an anxious surmise, were, after researches to
establish the fact, that the Orang Otang is an inhabitant of these forests.
V. — Note on the Fossil Bones discovered near Jabdlpur. By J. Prinsep,
Sec, As. Soc. ' v
[Read at the Meeting of the 30f A October.] ^y^ •
The last despatch from our zealous and disinterested contributor
Doctor SpiLSBuar puts it in our power to speak with some degree of
precision of the nature of the fossil remains discovered by Captain
Slxkman, and followed up by himself, in the neighbourhood of Jabal-
puj. — a 6eld, it must be remembered, that had been passed over by
Captain FaANKLiN and other geologists without any suspicion of the
-existence of such treasures.
The despatch I allude to consists of a classified series of specimens
of the strata wherein the bones were found imbedded, with references
to a rough vertical section of the country. (PI. xx. fig. 2.)
We observe that the low plains covered with jungle, at the foot of
the hills in question, consist of sandstone lying upon granite, which
protrudes in several places, as at A A A. towards the town.
Above t)ie sandstone lies a conformable stratum of compact silicious
limestone, which on solution in acids proves to be composed of grains
of clear silex, united together by carbonate of lime, here and there
tinged with chlorite, or holding nodule3 of that mineral imbedded ;
at other places, passing into pure quartz, and jasper conglomerate :
no stratification is perceptible in the limestone, which seems rather to
bear the character of a tufaceous deposit. At one place, £ c, an oval
• I hare been credibly informed of this, by several who witnessed the animals at
a distance, and afterwards examined their foot-marks (their surmise* being corro-
borated by th# MUvta of the country.) . . .
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$$4 Note on the Fossil Bones [Nor.
concretion is enclosed, which resembles a seed or almond : — it is filled
-with green earth.
Towards the southernmost hill this rock contains bones imbedded
in its substance, and having that pink colour observed in the first spe-
cimen sent to the Society ; they are accompanied with water- wora
pebbles and chlorite.
Half way up the same rock, of which Dr. Spilsburt represents a clear
section to be open to view from Q to P, a platform (Q P) exists, varying
in breadth from five to twelve yards. This Mr. Lykll would explain
to indicate (as the rock above and below is of the same quality) the ex-
istence of an ancient coast, worn away by the gradual action of water
before the level of the latter was depressed : another partial ledge
occurs on the surface of the silicious limestone, marking an anterior
water line, when only the superincumbent beds were exposed to the
corroding action of the sea or lake. It was upon this ledge in the
southernmost hill that the first bones were discovered, imbedded in a
gravel or alluvial conglomerate.
The uppermost rock is a fleet z trap, or horizontal bed of compact
volcanic basalt, which must have been spread over the whole surface
long before the denudating causes began to prevail, though pos-
terior to the existence of the animals whose bones are imbedded in the
subjacent rock at L b ; unless indeed it should turn out that the breccia
containing them occurs only in exterior patches, formed of their de-
tritus, and containing also portions of the basalt, which one or two of
the specimens whose labels are lost seems to render probable.
Of the nature of the bones found imbedded at L b, and of the period in
the history of the globe to which they belong, the imperfect broken
state of the fragments precludes us from pronouncing any opinion. For-
tunately, however, Dr. Spilsbury's discoveries did not stop here ; a3 he
correctly observes himself in one of his letters, one discovery has gra-
dually led to another, and he has become a geologist in spite of him-
self, by the force of accidental circumstances, and the intense interest
which such discoveries are calculated to awaken in the mind of man.
' A notice is inseited as a hint in the Journal, that fossil bones may
be met with near Jabalpur: — " I am put on the qui vive — set
out for the hills and bring in a collection of specimens : — my
people perceive my curiosity, and bring me in any thing uncom-
mon they meet with : — I go to Brim ban Ghat, whither the Eu-
ropean residents have constantly resorted for years past, and the
moment my mahout sees a huge bone, he brings it to me, and
it is discovered to be an elephant's jaw-bone in a perfect state of presex-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] discovered near Jabalpur. 5 85
Nation." A Fakfr it seems had occasion to pull down and rebuild his
hut. near the banks of the Nerbudda, when in the foundation these
curious reliques were found and thrown aside. " So again," says Dr. S.
'* some four months ago, a little boy tells me of a wonderful skeleton, said
by the natives to be that of a giant, describing the fingers as a foot
long : a /ia/e/has a kneepan that serves for a scale to weigh 3 or 4 seers
of cotton in ; — ' is not this/ says the boy, ' as wonderful as your jawbone ?'
to this I readily assented, determined at any rate to sift the rumour.
It was stated to be in Captain Garstin's district in the Omar Nadf,
about two kos (9 miles) from Narsinhpur (Garawara). I applied to
Captain Garstin, who, owing to the rains, was only two or three days
ago able to send me in a specimen. I suspect it will turn out to be a
fossil elephant, but I shall be better able to speak on the subject when I
have visited the spot on my way to Narsinhpur a few days hence."
Thus are our eyes at once opening to an unexpected and most inter*
eating object of geological research. Upon the first inspection of the
fragments the question naturally arises, to what animal do they belong,
and to what species ? as it may be remembered that all the fossil mam-
malia discovered in the tertiary deposits of Europe and America, and
even those brought away by Mr. CaAUPORD^rom Ava, have been pro*
nounced to belong to extinct species by the most competent authority,
and generally on the unequivocal testimony of skeletons, nearly com-
plete, if not perfect. It would be rather hazardous therefore to pro-
nounce upon the single half jaw-bone 11 before us, that the Jabalpur
fossil elephant was an exception to the general rnle ; yet, upon com-
paring the specimen, side by side, with a recent skeleton in the Society's
museum, it is impossible to discover any such distinction as should con-
stitute a difference of species : it is in all respects of the Asiatic type
of elephant, and can be confidently distinguished from the elephas
prhnigenius of Cuvibr, so common in Germany and throughout Asiatic
Russia, which has itself been pronounced " more different from the In-
dian species than the ass is from the horse, or the chacal from the wolf
and fox." — Pidgeon's Fossil Remains, 59.
I hope that the accompanying drawing will enable more experienced
geologists to decide the question of the identity of the specimen with
the existing species of elephant ; for although it may thus lose in an-
tiquity, it may perhaps gain in value, as an intervening link between
the inhabitants of our planet in two geological periods now separated
by so strong a barrier of dissimilar organization.
• Part of the opposite jaw has been since received, and has been added to the
drawing. (PI. XX. Fig. 1.) They art both inverted in the engraving.
3 Q
zed by G00gle
686 Note on tfo Fossil Bones [Not.
While committing the foregoing notice to press, I have received the
following account from Doctor Spilsbuey, confirming the expectation
alluded to in his former private communication. J. P.
Account of the Fossil bones discovered in ike bed of the Omar Nodi, nssr
Narstnhpdr or Garawara, in the Valley of the Nerbadda. By 6. G.
SprLBBURY, Surgeon to the Nerbudda Commission, ^c.
Some months ago a native report reached me, that in a nala of the
NarHnhpur district the skeleton of a giant was to he seen, the fingers of
which were said to he three feet long, and that a kneepan served as a weight
of five seers to the patel of the village. On hearing this I applied to Mr.
Garsttn, the magistrate of the district, requesting him to inquire into the
truth of the story : that gentleman immediately with his accustomed kind,
ness sent out and procured some specimens, which he forwarded to me at
Jahalpur. Finding they were fossil bones, I made arrangements for visit,
ing the spot in person, and beg to forward the accompanying specimens and
plan of the place.
At the spot marked A a, (PI. XXI. fig. I.) the water had worn away much
of the stone, at the under side of which I could perceive a large bone. By
the aid of villagers, and digging all round, I was able to upset this stone,
under which imbedded lay a thigh-bone five feet three inches long*, quite
perfect from the round head to the condyles, and altogether a most magni-
ficent specimen : in turning over the stone, however, it was split into two
pieces, and the bone fractured about two feet from the condyles. A is the
general rock found in the bed of the river, — B portion from that in the
stream— b c, spots where large fragments of bones (one apparently the
condyles of a similar thigh-bone) were lying. In the dry bed of the nalla
are strewed nodules of which the accompanying is a specimen, and generally
about that size. 1 send a small tooth (fig. 3) which I picked up between A a
and the fossil imbedded in the cliff. The tradition of the village is, that the
head of this animal was washed down the river some sixty or seventy years
ago. I obtained one large tooth from the Thakur of Omarin ; this, together
with five specimens, I hope at a future opportunity to submit to the notice
of the Society.
Description of Plate XX. illustrative oftheJabalpurfbssiis.
Fig 1. Represents a superficial view of the two fragments of the fbssfl
bone, placed as forming parts of the same lower jawbone of the elephant,
which on comparison with the plate in Cuvtbr or Griffiths will be found not
to differ materially from the type of the Asiatic species. The central oosu
nectimr part is represented too broad. The surface of the bone is in many
places, and especially in the cavities, covered with small granitic gravel,
cemented with lime. On dissolving a portion of the bone in acid, a fibrous
skeleton remains of silicious matter, which has occupied by infiltration the
place of the animal matter : the ivory of the tooth dissolves without resi-
due. 'The dimens i ons of the tooth as shewn on the plate are, in length 11 1
* Diameter of the bone about the middle and its smallest cylinder nearly six ierhru
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] discovered near Jabalpur. 587
inches: breadth, 3£ in. : grinding surface 8j, by S in. : girth of the jaw.
bone, 94 inches, and probable length from K, the apex of the chin, to the
socket, 26 inches.
FHg 3. Represents a geological section of the insulated hills to the
east of the line joining the cantonments and the town, distant l£ miles.
The letters refer to the specimens sent down by Doctor Spimbuhy.
A. Granitic hills to the north, extending to the town, where they dip, and
rise again near Garrah ; white quartz and felspar, dark grey mica.
B. Smaller grained granite, decomposing.
C. Granitic sandstone, friable, fine grained.
D. (From a watercourse), ferruginous sandstone, shewing the action of
fire. Between D and E, veins of quartz protrude.
The loose sandstone is stated to form the whole surface of the plain,
covered with low jungle at the foot of the hills, intersected with ravines. In
it, half way between the residency and the city, was found the specimen of
silicified wood, formerly presented.
At I and K seams or beds of fine potter's clay are found : at J the sand,
stone is quartzy, ferruginous, and friable.
££ is a compact silicious limestone, containing crystals of calcareous spar,
shell impressions (?) and amygdaloidal concretions filled with chlorite, which
have the appearance of fossil seeds. At Ec Ed it incloses quartz pebbles,
and fragments of bone mixed up with green earth, and apparently incorpo-
rated with the substance of the rock : in some places the limestone passes into
quartz. On solution in acid, it leaves a fine clean feharp angular quartz sand.
Captain Franklin describes a calcareous conglomerate near Jabalpur aa
composed of rounded fragments of wacken, basalt, sandstone) quartz, and fine
sand, cemented by calcareous matter, and resembling calcareous sandstone.
Its stratification is always horizontal, and it occurs in the beds of most rivers
whose sources are in trap countries : he supposes it to be formed from the
detritus of sandstone and overlying rocks, reposing on primitive rocks, and
covered with 30 feet of alluvium; but it is doubtful whether his account in-
cludes the present rock, which seems to extend for a great distance in each
direction underlying the basaltic trap.
From Q to P occurs the ledge in this rock before noticed, marking the
former position of a coast. At O, a small water course between other hills,
is a conglomerate containing pebbles of red jasper, basalt, felspar, &c united
with silitious cement. At H a similar variety occurs, and veins of brown
silex are frequent in the limestone.
Above the ledge L is a continuation of the same limestone, which tow
wards La becomes a bone breccia, and at Lb is much broken and mixed, from
the protrusion of a basaltic vein at M. S is the platform covered with a kind
of gravel, on which Captain Slbeman first discovered the fossil bones : it
was evidently part of the lacustrine bed previous to the denudation of the
lower valleys and the present Nerbadda plain.
G is a stratum of compact basalt, conformably stratified and overlying
the limestone on the three hills, whence it may be concluded to have been
Digiti
zed by G00gle
588- Report on a Collection of [Nov.
once continuous over the whole space. The sketch does not pretend to
accuracy, but the height of the hill to the right is stated in round terms to
be 150 feet. It would be a profitable employment for a geologist to strike
a complete section across from the trap hiHs S. E. of Jabalpur to the sand-
stone range of Pataria, and another from Tenduhaira to the hills south of
Narsinhptr, sounding through the alluvium of the valley of the Nerbadda,
and so putting us in possession of the true features of this field, now becom-
ing every day more important from the discovery of its coal, fossil wood,
shells, and animals.
Description of Plate XXI. th* locality of the Narsinhjmr Fossil Bone*.
Figl, the section of the bank laid bare by the gradual action of the Omar
Nodi exhibits; first, an inclined plane, C D, marking the limit of the rise
and fall of the stream, about 12 feet. Above this the bank is exposed for 25
or SO feet in height between two ravines, which, and the surface, are
covered with thick jungle. The upper part of the bank is composed of a
light soil, mixed with kankar, and a number of globular kankar nodules are
found in the bed of the stream, containing silicious nuclei.
A A the rock in which the bones are imbedded, is a gravelly concrete,
formedof rounded pebbles, grains of quartz, jasper, and basalt, united into a
hard rock, with calcareous cement : it seems to agree with Captain Franklin's
rock which may thus prove very fertile in organic remains, while it muai
also be of great extent in the valley of the Nerbadda.
Fig. 2, the plan of the locality requires no explanation.
Fig. 3, is the fossil tooth alluded to in Dr. Spilsbury's note. This tooth,
according to Mr. Peabson, is the third molar of the left side of the lower
jaw of a horse, and it agrees with other fossil bones of horses in being a
little smaller perhaps than the present species, but it is impossible to judge
from a single bone. Fossil remains of horses are common enough along with
those of the elephant, elasmotherium, hog, &c
An elephant 14 feet in height will, according to Cuvier, have a thigh-
bone 5 feet in length. It is doubtful whether any Indian elephant has been
seen o f that height. P-
VI.— Report on a Collection of Objects of Natural History. By the
Curator of the Museum of. the Asiatic Society.
[Reed 30M October, 1833.]
A valuable collection of objects of natural history having been offered
for sale for Rs. 200, it was thought advisable to purchase them for the
Society's museum, with the intention of disposing of the numerous
duplicates to private collectors in exchange for other specimens.
Owing to the sad state in which the insects were brought, and the
trouble of cleaning them, time has not been allowed to do more than.
put them on the table for the Society's inspection this evening, with r .
out any attempt having been made at arrangement : the same reasons
apply to the shells ; and wili, it is hoped, be a sufficient excuse for
the dromiscuous manner in which they are placed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Jotirn ds Soc
JUKPl 227
XocalUtf of £/w Nbwsin/iJiur
Fossil* Bones.
Fu?2.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Objects of Natural History. 599
On the very cursory inspection, however,, which has been made, it
appears that there are several new forms, both of the insects, and of
the shells. Of the former, among the Coleoptera, the specimens of the
families, of which Lucanus, Cerambyx, and Curculionida are the types,
are numerous ; and some of the species very extraordinary and beauti-
ful : of the Lamellicorn Beetles, there are but few, consisting chiefly
of the Cetoniada and Dynastida : of the Serricornes, Buprestis and
Elater are the only genera; whilst the collection is remarkable for
the few specimens of that numerous family comprising the genus
Carabus of Linnaeus.
Of Orthoptera, the species are few; but among them are two specimens,
unfortunately both mutilated, of the celebrated leaf insect from Sylhet.
The Hemiptera are numerous, consisting chiefly of Pentatoma and
its affinities.
Of the order Omoptera, the genus Cicada and its affinities have
many specimens, some of which appear to be new.
The Lepidoptera are all more or less injured. Some of the butterflies,
however, are very beautiful, and may be preserved until better speci-
mens shall be procured. The same may be said of the moths : and
there are some species of the genus Atlas, one of which is of large size
being 9} inches from tip to tip of the wings ; and another, believed
to be as yet unknown.
The collection of shells consists chiefly of the Phytiphagous section
of the Trachelipodous Mollusca ; some few belong to the Zoophagoua
section of the same order ; one genus comes under the class Conchifera,
and one is placed in the section Hydro branchiae of the Gasteropoda.
In all there are about 22 different genera ; and at least 60 different
species, comprehending between 6 and 7 thousand individual specimens.
Among these, some of the species of CaracoUa, Cyclostoma,
Melania, and Paludina are especially remarkable. There is also one
species entirely new, of a genus first described by Mr. Bbnson in the
first number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society, for January 1833,
under the name of Pterocyclos. It has been thought proper to change
that name to Spiraculum, for reasons which are fully detailed in a
paper the author has the honour of presenting to the Society to night.
In conclusion, it may be remarked, that the collection is' one suffici-
ently interesting and valuable, perhaps, to secure a vote of indemnity
for purchasing it. It is probable that on inquiry it will be found to
contain many new forms, particularly among the shells : for, not pos-
sessing the kind of beauty that makes them estimable to ordinary 1
collectors, land and fresh water shells have rarely formed any consi-
derable part of cabinets made for shew or for sale, and are accordingly*
little known to, and much valued by, the naturalist.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
590 Note on the Genus Spiracutum. (Nov.
VII. — Note on the Genus Spiraculum. By J. T.JJtearson, Curator As. Soc.
[Pretexted to the Asiatic Society, and read 30th October, 1833.] A
Class, Mollusc a. Order, Trachblipoda. r^'
Section, Phytiphaga. Family, — — ?
Genus, Spiraculum.
Animal — unknown.
Shell — discoidal, upper surface plano-convex, almost flat at the
top, largely umbilicated ; whorls cylindrical ; mouth circular ; lip
thickened, reflected ; last whorl a little bent downward toward the
umbilicus; a shelly, projecting spiracle, or breathing- tube on the
upper edge of the body whorl, where that whorl touches the preceding
one.
Operculum horny ; very thick ; formed of several spiral layers.
A species of this genus having been found by Mr. Bbnson, on the
Rajmahal hills, he formed a new genus for its reception ; and de-
scribed both its generic and specific characters, so far as he knew them,
in the first number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society. To this new
genus he gave the name Pterocyclos, and that he was right in ventur-
ing to institute it can hardly be doubted, when its strongly marked
characters are considered fully. But the discovery of another species,
with additional generic characters, has rendered improper a name
taken from the form of the aperture of a young specimen merely, or
from a species, as it would appear, far removed from the typical one of
the genus. Mr. Benson's name, therefore, has been altered to that
of Spiraculum, and the genus, according to characters it is now
known to possess, differs from all shells that have hitherto come to
the notice of the naturalist. No land shell besides it, excepting the
genus Cyclostoma, has a circular aperture ; and it is a curious tact, that,
in the genus Haliotis only, is there any process at all analogous to
the shelly tube which form so remarkable a feature in the generic
character of Spiraculum.
For the use of this tube analogy must be resorted to in the absence
of proof ; and analogy justifies the supposition of its being intended
for the purpose of protecting the breathing organs of the animal ;
while it admits of the free passage of air when the mouth of the shell
is closed by the operculum. Why it should be so ; why this genua,
which seems to be allied closely to the second division of the Colimacts,
near to Cyclostoma, should have such an apparatus, while Cyclostoma
has nothing of the kind, though the operculum of the latter shuts up
the shell as completely as can that of the former, it is not easy to say.
Bat it is equally difficult to account for the above-mentioned genua
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Note en the Genus Spiraculvm. 591
H allot is being furnished with tubes or spiracles well known as so many
passages for a syphon ; while Stomatella and Stomatia, which in other
respects so much resemble it, have none.
And yet a mere breathing hole would scarcely require to be protected
by a tubular process. But there may be attached to the neck of the
animal of Spiraculum, an apparatus similar to that described by La-
marck as possessed by the genus Valvata of his Plristomiens ; — " un filet
branchial et tentaculiforrae au cote* droit du cou, et quelque-fois une
hranchie en plumet et contractile, qu'il fait sailler hors de sa cavite* :"
or a projecting syphon, such as carries on the respiration of the se-
cond section of the Trachelipoda. Thus there would be an animal
breathing air yet furnished with the apparatus, or a modification of the
apparatus of one inhabiting and breathing only water, and consequent-
ly occupying an intermediate place in the chain of affinity, and form-
ing an inosculation between the two. If so Lamarck might have
adduced it, had it been known to him, as another fact, strongly
confirmative of his celebrated idea of the gradual perfection of the
animal form. His remarks on the subject are so apposite,
that they deserve to be quoted entire. " A mesure que," says.
Lamarck, " les animaux se repandirent partout de proche en proche,
il parait que ceux des trachelipodes fluviatiles que habiterent les
eaux qui ont peu de profondeur, comme celles des petites rivieres des
6tangs, et des mantis, que sont expos6es & tarir, furent souvent rlduits
a vivre dans une vase plus au moins desslchle. lis se trouverent done
forces a s'habituer a Fair, a le respirer. Or cette habitude ayant modifie*
leurs branchies, comme celles des colimaces, est devenu pour euz une
necessite ; en sorte que quoique vivant dans l'eau ils sont main tenant
obliges de venir de temps en temps a sa surface pour y respirer 1 'air libre."
If any change of this kind ever did take place, it may perhaps be
found at some future time, when physiological investigations are better
understood than at present, that these animals are able to breathe both
air and water ; and further, should the above conjecture as to the re-
spiratory apparatus of Spiraculum prove to be correct, there will be ano-
ther link of union between the second section of Coiimacees and the
Penstomiens beside that of the Lymneens.
Genus, Spiraculum. Species, Hispidvm.
Specific Characters. Animal unknown.
Shell white, subdiaphonous, upper surface of the body whorl
slightly patched with rufous. Epidermis dark-brown, covered with
short bristly hairs, which at the outer and under side of the whorl are
placed thickly together, giving an appearance to the shell of its being
zoned with three narrow dark lines ; whirls five, breathing tube one line
Digiti
zed by G00gle
592 On the Kukumb ka Tel [Nor.
in length, conical, compressed, pointing backward and inward ; month
circular, lip thickened and reflected. Diameter one inch.
Operculum corneous, formed of several spiral layers, deeply capped
at the outer surface, and plano-convex at the inner.
All the specimens of this collection have the mouth dilated at the
upper margin into a surface more or less flat, or concave, or formed
like a sinus. But in the above description it is assumed to be circular,
because it is almost of that form in the more advanced specimens,
from the dilatation having become a well-marked sinus, and in one or
two nearly formed into a tube. In a smaller species also, in the col-
lection, the tube is actually formed in this manner, being at first a di-
latation, then a sinus, as fresh shelly matter is deposited, and finally a
tube : and in proof of this, a series of specimens may be seen in the
collection, in which are gradual changes from a slight dilatation
of the upper margin of the aperture, to the perfect tube and circular
reflected lip.
2. — Spiracuhm Parvum.
Shell white, subdiaphonous, zoned with a dark-brown line along
the circumference of the whorl, striated above with brown zig-zag
striae, and less distinctly so below. Shelly spiracle or breathing tube
situated near to tfee mouth. Mouth perfectly circular ; lip thickened
and reflected, umbilicus largely dilated, upper surface plano-convex,
, almost flat. Diameter -^ of an inch.
Operculum unknown, supposed to resemble that of S. Hispidum.
Epidermis dark-brown.
3. — The shell described by Mr. Benson under the name of Ptero-
cyclos rupestris.
It is thus ascertained that there are at least three species of this in-
teresting genus, and it is hoped that the reasons detailed above are an
excuse sufficient for changing the name bestowed upon it by Mr. Ben-
son ; at all events, it has been done from a sincere conviction of its
necessity, and not from any spirit of innovation.
VIIL— On the Kukumb ka Tel, or Concrete Oil of the Wild Mangotteen.
To the Editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society. \^*'
Sir,
The motto on the title page of your Journal induces me to send
you a few remarks on a substance which I have reason to think
possesses some very peculiar properties, which entitle it to be made the
subject of experimental investigation.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] On the Kukumb ha Teh 593
This substance is the Kukumb ka Tel of the natives of this part of
the country, or the concrete oil of the wild mangos teen, a tree which
is common in some parts of the Southern Konkan. I am not aware,
whether any or what difference, further than may be induced by
cultivation, exists between the above and the much-extolled mangosteen
of the Straits. The fruit ripens in April and May ; is small, and of a
flattened globular form. The rind or shell is about |th of an inch in
thickness, of a deep crimson colour, and intense acidity. Within this,
but without adhering to it, is contained a pulpy mass, in which the
seeds are imbedded. The oil is extracted from the seeds by boiling.
They are first exposed for some days in the sun to dry, and then pound*
ed and boiled in water : the oil collects on the surface, and on cooling
concretes into a solid cake. When purified from extraneous matter,
the product is of a rather brittle quality ; of a pale yellowish hue, the
shade inclining to green; exceedingly mild and bland to the taste,
melting in the mouth like butter, and impressing a sensation of cold on
the tongue, not unlike what is experienced on allowing a particle of
nitre to dissolve on the tongue.
From several experiments on this substance with the thermometer I
have been led to the conclusion that in passing from the concrete to a
fluid state, and conversely from a fluid to the concrete form, it is guided
by some peculiar law, in consequence of which it has two distinct
temperatures, removed from each other by several degrees, at which
it passes respectively from one state into the other. I need not here
detail the numerous trials I made on it, as the general result was the
same in all. My first object was to ascertain the temperature at which
it congealed or passed into the concrete form. This from repeated
trials I invariably found to be about 90°. In one instance, having
brought the substance into a perfect state of fluidity, I placed it in an
oven with a temperature at first above 100°, but allowed gradually to
descend. When the Thermometer, which was placed beside it, indicated
88*, I expected to have found it congealed ; but perceiving that it still
retained its fluidity, I took it out and plunged the bulb of the thermo-
meter into it. The thermometer immediately rose to 94°, at which it con-
tinued for some minutes, (the external air at the time being 72°,) and
then gradually descended to 90°, at which it became stationary for some
minutes before the substance began to lose its fluidity and transparency :
then without indicating any change of temperature, the process of
congealing commenced at the sides of the vessel, the opaque cloud
slowly creeping in towards the centre, and the thermometer all the
while remaining at 09*.
3h
Digiti
zed by G00gle
594 On the Kukumb ka Tel. [Nor.
The result of various trials satisfied me, that this substance could
not be brought to congeal at a higher temperature than 90* ; but in
experimenting on it in the solid state, that temperature was found
quite insufficient, by several degrees, again to liquify it. The follow-
ing is a brief statement of the result of several trials to ascertain its
melting point. It was subjected to a gradually increasing temperature,
commencing from 90*, with considerable intervals between every
higher accession of temperature, to allow time for the effect which was
capable of being produced on it. From 90 to 100*, the effect was
merely to soften it : at 102°, it still preserved its cohesion, but the con-
sistency was that of butter in warm weather : at 106 part began to
separate in a semifluid state, transparent at the edge and opaque in the
centre ; and a few minute globules were separately observed in a per-
fectly fluid state. Every fresh accession of temperature had of course
the effect of bringing it more and more towards a state of fluidity ; bat
up to 11 6°, there was still observable a partial opacity, and it was only
when the temperature had reached about 1 20*, that it could be said to
have attained perfect fluidity and transparency*.
Another peculiarity in this substance is the irregular form its sur-
face is thrown into in the act of concreting. Nor does it appear capable
of being prevented by any management, or by conducting the process
in the most gradual and gentle manner. But the effect may be consi-
derably increased by exposing it in a fluid state to the sudden applica-
tion of a cooling medium. Having a stratum of the fluid oil at 120%
floating on water in a small cup, I suddenly exposed it to the chilling
influence of a slight drizzling rain and sharp breeze, the temperature
of the air being 70° : the rapid abstraction of heat soon caused the
congealing process to commence, and the entire surface shot up into a
series of prismatic or columnar masses, about Jth inch in height, and
separated from each other by small intervals. This effect took place
some time before the substance became perfectly opaque ; and while
in this state, it had the appearance of a crystallized body, in an
intermediate state between opacity and transparency, of which we have
a familiar instance in a piece of loaf-sugar dipped in water.
The concrete oil of the mangosteen might I apprehend be advan-
tageously introduced into pharmaceutical preparations. It is used by
the natives as a healing application. I have noticed among its sensi-
ble properties, that it impresses a sensation of cold on the tongue ;
from which it would appear, that it powerfully absorbs heat, as several
salts do in the act of dissolving. It is easy to conceive that this
* The same peculiarity is observable, more or less, in all the concrete oik : it is
probably owing to their bad conducting power.— Eo.
Digitized by
Google
18S3.] Note on the Rhytlk Phyt Coal. 595
property may often be of great service in wounds or sores, accompanied
-with inflammation, which it is desirable to abate.
The quantity of the concrete oil that may be obtained from the
seeds may be taken at about one-tenth. From J lb. avoirdupois or 3,500
grs. of the seeds, I obtained 360 grs. of the concrete oil in a moderate-
ly pure state. The above is somewhat more than 1 -10th; and with
better management, the product might perhaps be greater. It requires
however long-continued boiling to extract it, and it is still more tedious
to purify it from the fibrous matter of the seeds.
Western Ghauts, 25th September, 1833. N. N. L.
IX. — Note on the Coal discovered at Khytik Phyu, in the Arracan District.
[Read 30ih October, 1833.]
Lieut. Foley has been most active in investigating the mineral
resources of this* almost impenetrable country, where swamps and
jungles of the worst description render it hazardous to reside, while they
hide for the most part the features by which a geologist is enabled
to direct his researches.
The seam of coal discovered at Syneg Kyong, as shewn in Captain
Margravb's sketch, Plate XIX. Fig. 3. is most conveniently situated for
exportation, should it turn out abundant, and of good quality. The Oona
Kyong* creek (reed-nala) falls into Khyuk Phyd harbour, just be-
yond the anchorage of the ships, and the nala itself is deep enough
for all small vessels. The following description of the place is extracted
from a note by Captain Margrave.
" The hill towards the creek describes the segment of a circle is
Very steep, and no more I think than 50 or 60 feet from the sea level -
the soil is sand and clay, variously proportioned, of grey, yellow, and
sometimes a reddish colour, resting apparently on coarse grey sand-
stone. It is isolated by the spring-tide, whose fall leaves exposed a
flat level ledge of rock, (extending some 70 yards or more N. W. of
the hill,) composed of grey sandstone with a brick-red tinge on the
surface, particularly near the edges of the blocks and fissures. This
sandstone seemed to me to disappear under the hill, for on the other
side I found precisely similar stone in fragments, but not the same per-
fectly horizontal bed. The vein of coal runs about E. and W. (along
the line DB) across the southern part of the ledge; at B is the pit
sunk by Lieut. Foley, 3 or 4 feet deep, on a former visit : at A and
C are the smaller excavations whence came the best specimens of ore
and coal. The vein is not straight, however, but rather serpentine, or
• la the plate this has been called Syneg- kyong by mistake. — Ed.
3 a 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
5« Note on the Khyiik PKy* Cod. [Nov.
zig-zag from D to B, where it disappears, apparently passing under
the hill. The seam is nearly vertical, from 80° to 85 a dipping to the
north. The order of the strata from the north was — 1, the reddened
grey sandstone ; 2, a black or dark-grey sandshale, mixed with thin
veins and grains of coal ; 3, the hard brittle shining jet coal, sometimes
covered with a yellow argillaceous substance, with layers of the sand-
stone and fibrous bituminous shale ; then came the pure coal, succeeded
below by the same mixed substance, and this followed by a hard grey
sandstone. We followed the vein down as well as our imperfect means
would permit, but lost it always I think at the depth of 2 or 3 feet.
Including the soft layers it was generally from six inches to a foot in
thickness, and could be distinctly traced from D to B by the blackish
grey appearance of the stone. My attention was most excited how-
ever by the abundance and apparent purity of the iron pyrites, which
was extracted during such imperfect operations."
Lieut. Foley subsequently extracted a considerable quantity of the
Syneg Kyong coal, and of the curious silicified coal found here and else-
where in contact with it* : some of the latter specimens are almost wholly
converted into silex, and give an insight into the process of formation
of the fossil wood so common in Arracan, Ava, and Assam. As to the
denomination of the Khydk Phyd coal, whether it be what used to be
called a true coal or a more modern lignitef, it is of little importance now
that all such formations are attributed to a similar origin, namely, the
gradual deposition of vegetable matter along with the sedimentary sands,
and mud of an ancient river or estuary. It is the extent and thickness
of the bed which is of importance, and in this the Syneg Kyong coal
seems to be deficient as far it has been hitherto explored. This
circumstance and the quantity of pyrites may deprive it of a part of its
value, although it is otherwise of a very rich and good quality, and well
adopted for getting up boiler heat. The analysis of the larger speci-
mens sent through Mr. H. Walter, Commissioner of Arracan, being
more accurate than that noted at a former meeting, is here repeated.
Syneg Kyong coal.
Volatile matter.... 37.1
Carbon 60.5
Red ferruginous ash, 2.4
Silex
Oogadong
lignite.
Srlicified
coal with ditto.
63.0
3.2
35.5
4.3
1.5
. «m>
92.5
100.0 100.0 100.0
* This appears to be the case in a specimen marked No. 5, Pktirinyu coal,
which is of the same nature as the silicified coal which accompanied Mr. Wal-
ter's specimens of Sandowy lignite, and is stated by him to exist in such abun-
dance there.
f See page 606. of the present number.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
183&] Analysis of Booh. «gf
Lieut. Foley describes the Oogadong and silicious or Phuring*
beds of coal as follows :
2. The Oogadong coal (See. PI. XIX.) occurs in what geologists would
call the newest fketz trap formation : it consists of pitch-coal, brown coal
and a slate coal ; it is found in conjunction with iron pyrites beneath
a stratum of sandstone, &c. similar to that of Syneg Kyong. The
vein appears to run from east to west, extending from the foot of a
small hill towards the sea.
3. The Phdringu bed is apparently a continuation of the last,
lying in the same direction, at the distance of two coss, though sepa-
rated by the sea. It crops out from between layers of a fine greyish
sandstone, in a small island, one of the " Balungahs," or broken
islands: the beds are nearly horizontal, dipping slightly towards
Oogadong.
Lieut. Folbt also alludes to the plentiful supply of coral lime along
the coast, and in Ramree l3land, where there is a loose calcareous
rock forming low hills in the direction of Moira, probably formed from
the degradation of the coral. — There are mud volcanoes in Ramree as in
Cheduba*, which spout out abundance of pyrites and kidney iron ore.
A crater of this kind is pointed out at Oogadong, where scoriaceous
matter, trap minerals, and basalt shew evidence of more active volcanic
agency in times past. Petrified wood occurs also near Nagadong.
J. P.
X. — Analysis of Booh.
Transaction* of the Batavian Society of Arte and Seiencee, Vol. XIII.
The half of this volume is occupied by a subject, we may say, of interest to
every individual in the world ; Cholera Morbus. Important however as it may
be in itself, it has now been the subject of so many volumes, treatises, and essays,
that each singly conveys but little information that is new, and the greatest part
of any one is a repetition of the others. Unfortunately also it cannot be said that
all the labours of medical men have advanced our knowledge respecting this
formidable disease much beyond what it was in the first year of its appearance.
It would be difficult to name a subject in Pathology which medical men have ever
so heartily and so strenuously united to investigate, and on which such a mass of
intellect throughout every quarter of the world has directed its concentrated energy,
and yet after sixteen years of unwearied observation, experiment, and research, we
are obliged to confess that the cause of Cholera is unknown, its pathology inscrut-
able, and its treatment totally unsettled.
These reasons might be supposed sufficient to induce us to pass over very briefly
the articles on Cholera in the present publication : as however among all the
* Nodular iron pyrites, the exterior of which has been deprived of its sulphur,
and converted into red oxide of iron by heat.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
$98 Analysis of Booh. [Nor.
©pinions respecting it wbich hare been published, those of the Dutch Physicians
in the Eastern Archipelago are perhaps the least known, it may not be uninterest-
ing to give a brief analysis of tbem as they appear in these Transactions.
I. The first paper is by Dr. M. T. G. Muller, Physician to the Hospital at Wil-
tevrede. He sets out with an account of the several appearances of Cholera in the
Eastern Islands : the first notice of it is in Bontius, Physician to the Dutch
Settlement of Batavia, who published an account of the diseases of the East Indies
in 1629, and among others of Cholera Morbus, which according to him was so
violent, that " Cornelius Van Raven, steward of the hospital of the sick, being in
perfect health at six in the evening, was suddenly seized with the Cholera, and
expired in terrible agony and convulsions, before twelve o'clock at night ; the
violence and rapidity of the disorder surmounting the force of every remedy/*
Bontius, Chap. vi.
On the news of the appearance of Cholera in Malacca in 1819, the Dutch
Government of Java directed all ships coming from infected parts to undergo a
strict quarantine. In spite of this, the disease broke out at Java in April, 1821, with
such violence, that at Batavia, 156 deaths took place in one day, and by June it had
visited every quarter of the island. The violence abated in December, by which
time it is reckoned 110,000 persons fell victims to its rage.
f This, it will be seen, is a very different account from that in the Lancet, the
Editor of which is determined to maintain the contagious nature of the disease,
/and shapes according to that the history which he gives in the number for November
'1831. He informs us that,
"In 1823, coincident with the Burmese war, and the inarch of oar troops from sick
districts in British India, the Birman empire became affected. Coincident again with
the general or particular periods of the arrival of individual vessels or trading flotillas,
we find the malady in Acheen, the capital of Sumatra ; at Banca, Java, and Borneo, in
ihe Philippine Islands; atAmboyna, in the Molluccas, and at length in Macao and
Canton on the west coast of China." —
Thus insinuating that it did not appear in Java before 1823, and omitting all men-
tion of the quarantine.
The author then gives a summary account of the course of the disease — " A few
minutes after being attacked by Cholera, the following appearances are observable.
The patient lies without motion, stretched out in one posture ; the skin is bine or
dirty brown, and sometimes marked with livid or purple spots, as is seen in frozen
persons ; some times altogether dry, at others covered with cold sweat. It is cold,
hard, and contracted, quite different from health, and conveys to the fingers, par-
ticularly when covered with sweat, a peculiar disagreeable sensation. The turgor
tfiUlii disappears, so that even corpulent persons appear to have become lean*.
The countenance falls in, and indicates great weakness ; the forehead is covered with
cold sweat ; the eyes lie deep in their sockets, and are surrounded with a dark ring.
The half shut eyelid allows only a part of the muddy eyeball to be seen, but when-
ever it is fully opened, the exhausted eye looks out with a melancholy game. The
blue lips remain half open, and allow exit to cold expiration ; the chest heaves
laboriously, the abdomen labours to maintain the respiration. It is however
tolerably even, and neither tumid nor retracted ; the extremities are stiff, the skis
of the half shut hands wrinkled as in persons who work much in water, but cold,
* This striking symptom appears to be unnoticed in our Medical Publications.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] Analysts of Books. 59*
tad the nails are blue. The patient appears almost quite indifferent to his situation,
and speaks unwillingly.
" Scarcely hare these appearances heen observed than the scene changes. The half
dead patient revives, the countenance assumes a painful expression, the legs are
drawn to the belly, the feet and toes crook themselves downwards, hard moveable
knobs are felt in the calves and thighs. These are the muscles drawn together by
agonizing cramps. The arms are also often attacked by cramps, and the patient
exhibits such strength that several persons are necessary to hold bim. Oppressive
sighing takes place ; the cramps at length cease, but another painful phenomenon
makes its appearance ; the patient worn out by internal heat, cries out for cold water,
swallows a quantity of it greedily, which scarcely gets to the stomach before it
comes up again, generally followed by severe retchings ; and iu proportion as the
stomach empties itself above, so the bowels empty themselves below in rspid suc^
cession of evacuations of a large quantity of thin rice-water liquid, which generally
exhaust the patient, who now refuses to speak, except to cry for drink, or utter
broken complaint of weakness, and groanings extorted by the spasms." Page 7.
The author then proceeds to a more minute and detailed account of the whole
course of the disease, which he divides into three stages. The first, consisting of
the preliminary symptoms till the appearance of vomiting ; the second, from that
period till the commencement of the state of torpor and insensibility ; the third,
from thence to death. In all this it will be seen that not the least notice is taken
of the state of re-action previous to death on which the European Physicians dwell
at such length ; nor indeed has it been noticed by any practitioner we believe in this
country. Is this state peculiar to the Cholera of cold climates, and does it constitute
a difference between the disease as it occurs there and in India ?
The reader must always remember that there is a certain degree of Poetry in
Physic as in every thing else, and that a sick man constitutes in some respects a very '
picturesque object, particularly when dying of a horrible and incurable disease. Most
Physicians (even the very soberest) are apt to indulge their poetical vein a little in
describing the circumstances of such patients, and to make a striking picture out
of the collection of their symptoms. Hence in reading accounts of Cholera, or
indeed of any other fatal ailment, we must always substract a certain proportion of
the terrible, and endeavour to judge of what the description would be, if written in
plain prose. m
Dr. Moller then goes on to an account of the post-mortem appearances, which
are detailed with great minuteness ; he divides them into sections, the external
appearances, the cranium, the thorax, the heart, the lungs, the abdomen, the
stomach, the duodenum and jejunum, the ileum, the mesentery, the colon, the
liver, the gall-bladder, the spleen, the kidneys, the bladder, the abdominal gan-
glia : of these last the aathor observes, that " they have been frequently examined
without exhibiting any thing unusual except an increase of redness, arising from
the plethora of their blood vessels, the ganglions themselves seemed unaltered."
P. 39.
He then proceeds to the diagnosis, which we pass over, concluding that it can
present little difficulty. The symptoms of Cholera are too formidable to be easily
or frequently mistaken.
Then follow the causes of Cholera, in which however he merely confines himself
to that disposition of body which renders an individual susceptible of the disease,
and this in general he considers to be debility, or, to use his own words,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
600 Analysis of Booh. [Nor.
" It thus appears, that a weakened state of the body produces tbe chief predis-
position to Cholera. By a weakened body, I understand a body in which the Tital
powers hare descended below their just and necessary degree : a weak body is quite
a different thing, that is, only in comparison with other stronger bodies ; a smaller
degree of vital power, which may however be just and complete for the health of
that individual itself." P. 54*.
He observes with respect to Europeans, that the disease does not appear in them
on their first arrival in Java, but generally after they have been some time resident,
and the climate has begun to affect them. He then reviews the various opinions
respecting the exciting cause of the disease, and is dissatisfied with them all. He
himself offers nothing better than an altered state of the atmosphere.
After an investigation of the proximate cause the author sums up thus, "A sudden
and great debility of the nervous and vital powers, with increased excitement in the
abdominal viscera, are the proximate causes of Cholera." P. 64.
We fear this explanation casts but little light on tbe disease. He then goes on
to the prognosis, through all the minutiae of which, we cannot follow him ; he seems
to lay most stress on the state of the pulse.
" The first and chief symptom on which any hope of recovery can be founded is
tbe pulse becoming stronger ; it is of little consequence whether it be quicker or
slower, harder or softer, if at the same time it exhibits more fulness ; nay a slight
variation in the pulse is not upon the whole a bad sign, as it is generally accompa-
nied by a diminution of uneasiness." P. 71.
We now come to what is most interesting of all, the treatment ; and this the
author comprises in four indications : first, the re-excitement and preservation of
the nervous and vital powers ; second, the restoration of the circulation and the
natural state of the blood ; third, the diminution of the excitement in the stomach
and bowels ; fourth, the- diminution of the disposition to spasm.
] The means for all this the author divides into two classes, external and internal.
In the first class he arranges (whether properly or not), the evacuation of blood by
\ the lancet or leeches ; of the first he observes that it is chiefly useful to full-blooded,
I fresh- arrived Europeans, not yet become weak. Of the few patients cured under
i such circumstances, the greatest number have been bled. Leeches produce the
same effects, but more slowly ; in advanced states of tbe disease, they remain for
hours on the patient's skin without becoming fuller. He then discusses tbe
Jlerivantia, that is, all those means which, by exciting the skin, diminish the
nternal irritation. He lays a good deal of stress on simple shampooing, and
1 then on dry friction ; he approves of the application of mustard pastef to the breast
and extremities : moxa can hardly be used ; but in two instances, the author made a
' moxa of phosphorus, and burnt it on the spine, without any effect.
He then enters upon the external medicines ; the well known list of stimulants,
nkohol, ether, oleum menth. &c : even phosphorus, he says, was tried to the extent of
four grains in 24 hours, to no purpose : opium be declares to have had no visible
* It is a little odd that this should be the doctrine of the old Arabic Physicians, m
what they called Aslah-ool Amzijati lahoo, by which they meant, not the best state of
\ health absolutely, but tbe best state of health with reference to the constitution of a
) given individual. See printed Edition of the Kanooncheh, 1627. P. 3.
f This remedy is also highly, and we believe justly extolled by Dr. Twikixo.
Practical Account of Epidemic Cholera, 1833. P. 79.
Digitized by
Google
1 833 .] Analysis of Boohs. 601
effect on the disease : of calomel, he observes, that it was ranch more used formerly
than now, and he ends with a list of the cholera mixtures published officially in
the Batavia Courant. We select one or two of those least used with us.
(4) R. Infos, Valerian, .... Jv. (5) R. Calomel, 9i
Ol. Cajapooti, 9i — ii. Camphor, elect. . . . gr. viii
iEther Sulph. acet 311 Opii pur gr. iv
A spoonful every hour. Sacch. Alb 5!
divide in pulv. vi.
One to be taken every quarter
of an hour.
(6) U. Ol. Phosphor, .... $8. ( Ji (7) R. Aq. Menth J iv
continet Phosphor . . gr. U) Acet Morphii gr. iv
Pulv. Gum -Arab 3i M. as the former.
Aq. Menth £v (8) R. Ol. Jatrophe, 51
Vini Opii 3i Pulv. Gum Arab 31
M. f. eroulsio Aq. Menth Jiii
as the former. M. every hour two spoonsful.
II. The length of our observations on this first article renders a detailed account of
the succeeding on the same subject unnecessary, by H. Schillbt, Surgeon Major of
the Royal Netherland Marine. He inquires into the name of the disease, its cause,
(in which he is an opponent of contagion) its effects, its species, its diagnosis,
its treatment, (and here he quotes largely from the works of our Indian Sur-
geons, Johnson, Corbyn, Boyle, Tytlbr, &c.) and then the post-mor-
tem appearances. In these he chiefly notices the state of the brain, and
gives a plate of that organ, its vessels loaded with blood, and the dura ma-
ter deeply stained with inflammation. He also gives a figure of a portion of
the stomach and the jejunum. In an account of the prophylactics, he takes
notice of the dispute respecting the effects of bad rice in exciting the disease.
" It is well known, that Dr. Tytlbr connected the food of the Hindoos with this
disease, and on account of the bad qualities of the last rice crop, which is their
daily food, he ascribed this epidemic sickness to that ; thereupon his well-known
work saw the light, endeavouring to ascribe the epidemic which has prevailed in
different parts of the world, for many years, to the bad qualities of the rice, on
which account he gives to the Indian cholera the name of morbus oryxeus ; bad
food is doubtless one of the chief predisposing causes of this disease, but cer-
tainly not the proximate cause." P. 178.
III. The next article is a dissertation on the origin of the Japanese, by Dr. Vonsir-
bold. Like all other eastern nations, these people pretend to a divine origin and
unfathomable antiquity. The race of gods, called Tr wsrn S btsid a 1, had employed
themselves, somewhat unsatisfactorily we should think, for millions of years in
hovering over the land of Nippon : at length the seventh in succession to the celestial
throne, by name Tsanage Namik, with his wife, came to the resolution of descend-
ing from the clouds on Japan, and there multiplying like men, they produced a race
of demigods of limited but very long life, and dignified with polysyllabic names.
European antiquarians have given various interpretations of this fable, with
which we need not trouble our readers. Four different opinions are entertained
respecting the origin of the Japanese : —
3 1
Digiti
zed by G00gle
602 Analysis of Books. [Nor.
A. That they are descendants of the Chinese.
B. Or of some of the Tartar tribes.
C. Or of a mixture of various Asiatic tribes.
D. Or they are aborigines.
Which last supposition cuts the knot at once.
The resemblance between the Chinese and Japanese is so strong, in physiogno-
my, religion, and manners, as as to have impressed all travellers with the idea of the
latter people being a colony of the former.
The author omits other considerations, and enters into an inquiry respecting
the oblique position of the eyes, supposed to be peculiar to the Chinese, and the
nations consanguineous with them; but as he observes, nothing can be built on this
till it be ascertained what are the Asiatic tribes to whom this conformation belongs,
and whether any of those of North and South America partake in it. The skin
of the Japanese is of all colours ; in town many approach to the fairness of
Europeans, in the country they are copper red or earthy clou red.
His next inquiry is into the resemblance of the Japanese and Chinese language
and writing. The Chinese say, the first appearance of the Japanese among tbem
was A. D. 57, at which time, they were barbarians, without writing, government or
morals, but they at the same time assert, that Japan .was peopled by a colony of
Chinese in the year 1195 before Christ ; if so, why did not this colony carry their
writing and manners along with them ? The author allows that Japanese writing is
borrowed from the Chinese, but still contends, that Japan must have been peopled
by a nation using a different language from theirs.
The Japanese alphabet consists of 47 letters, which are originally Chinese cha-
racters, having the same sound ; but the Japanese language, unlike that of the
Chinese, is polysyllabic : hence, says the author, Japan must have been peopled
by some Asiatic tribe before the art of writing was spread through the northern
parts of Asia.
The author next proceeds to the religion, and, " Though," says he, " I cannot
prove that the religion of the old inhabitants of Japan might not have been the same
with that of their Chinese contemporaries, yet I can maintain, that the religion
prevailing among the Chinese and Japanese in the present day has not the least
resemblance to that of the ancient Japanese." P. 220. To prove this, the author
enters into a long investigation of the ancient and modern Chinese and Japanese
godderies, which we have found it difficult to understand, and would find it more
bo to make intelligible to our readers ; we shall therefore take it for granted that
he has proved his point, and go on to the rest of the argument.
The author then considers the relationship between the Japanese and the
Tartar races, but we have not leisure to follow him through this research, par-
ticularly, as after examining the language and manners of the Japanese and the
neighbouring kingdom of Corea, at great length he does not appear to come to a
positive conclusion. He then asks if the Japanese are a mixed race, composed from
various Asiatic clans ; and though the author is not very clear, we consider this the
opinion to which, upon the whole, he is most inclined. He even considers that
there is a strong relation between these tribes and the Peruvians, and gives
some instances of verbal resemblances in their respective language, thus supporting
the theory of Mr. Rankbn on the origin of the Peruvians. He concludes, " I com-
mit these fragments to the hands of the literati, earnestly entreating them to receive
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833.] Analysis of Books. 603
with favour the nosegay I hare gathered with so much care from the islands of
this archipelago and the neighbouring continents, and to take them under their high
and mighty protection." P. 275.
IV. The next paper by M. H. Haliwtn is an account of the tribe called the
Dayakker* of Borneo. They seem in a very low state of civilization, being totally
ignorant of reading and writing, and have a number of very peculiar customs well
worth noticing, did our space allow of it. We shall only notice one, which will serve
as a complete refutation of those who are disposed to bold Oriental civilisation in
low estimation. " The Dayakkers are governed by their chiefs, who are entirely
dependent on their subjects, and are chosen from the eldest of the people. If the
chief acts arbitrarily, the people rebel against him and put another in his place."
P. 291. This it must be confessed is the very acme and beau ideal of government,
sufficient surely to satisfy the most liberal reformer. How wonderful it is that so
perfect a scheme should, in the midst of the march of European intellect, be
reserved for such a remote and unnoticed part of the world as this. " There are/'
proceeds the author, " many debtors in Dayak .- the custom is, that if the debt be
not discharged in four months, it is doubled.*' P. 291. This is worse than Calcutta
Sircars and Life Insurances yet.
V. The next article by Mr. Vander Jaht is am account of the groupe of island*
called the Kokot or Keeling I* lands t of which a full and authentic account, derived
from the Report* of Admiral Owin to the Government, was published in the Glean-
ings of Science, for Oct 1830- The article terminates with an account of the
interview between the author and Mr. Ross, also given in the Gleanings.
VI. The last article is an account of the mountain* of Tinger, in Java, by
H. T. Dornis, Resident at Soorabay. The author examines their geogra-
phical situation, the dwellings of the inhabitants, their religions, their mode of pray-
er, their festivals, their ceremonies of birth, marriage, and funerals ; all these
seem borrowed from the Indian Brahmins, and are quite different from the
Muhammedan Javanese. Above the head of Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva,
however, they acknowledge a supreme power, whom they cell Prabo goro
Inglohor. One or two singular customs may be noticed — " widows are highly priz-
ed among them, and as soon as a woman has lost her husband she is sought after by
almost all the bachelors ; a young miss gets a husband with great difficulty."
P. 330/ One might be tempted to ask bow then are widows produced ? The case is
similar to Winifred Jenkin's puzzle as to how sheep's heads could be found in
Scotland unless there were sheep too. " When the Tingerians wish to exhilarate
themselves, they drink tocak, i. e- fermented palm wine, mixed with water, which
renders them immensely frolicksorae ; the smoking of opium and drinking of
strong waters is unknown" Ibid. We know not whether the Temperance Societies
would approve this distinction.
On the whole, the author is so delighted with the climate and manners of the
Tingerians, that he breaks out into a Virgilian rapture, which not to do him injus-
tice, we shall give both in the original and translation as a conclusion to our
analysis. " Gelkkige bewoners van Tinger ! hoe weining gevoeltgij mischien zelve
het vo oregt hetwelk gij genie t !"
" Happy inhabitants of Tinger, how little perhaps do they feel the privilege*
which they enjoy."
3 I 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
604
Miscellaneous.
[Nor.
XL — Miscellaneous.
\.—Regitttr qfthe Temperature of Gkasipur. By Ike Ret. R. Etkbxst.
I am fully aware how imperfect these observations are, but in this country, where
so little has been done, I publish them in the hope they may hereafter be of use to
individuals engaged in the same pursuit. To obtain the mean of every hour in the
24 as was done at Leith, is beyond the power of any one without assistance. — R.E.
in 1831-2 |n^ra2-3.
*P» l * | Mean. **"
1831.
April, .
C Highest, .
J Lowest, .
* Mean, . . .
C Highest, .
? Lowest, .
(_ Mean, . . ,
r Highest, .
/ Lowest, .
£ Mean, . . .
r Highest, .
3 Lowest, ,
£ Mean, . . ,
r Highest,
J Lowest, ,
£ Mean, . . ■
C Highest, .
September, < Lowest,
£ Mean, . .
C Highest,
? Lowest,
C Mean, . .
Highest,
Lowest,
Mean,
May,
June,
July,
August,
October, ,
November,
f Highest,
December, J Lowest,
1832.
January, .
February,
March, . .
f Mean,
f Highest,
, < Lowest,
* Mean, . . ,
C Highest,
. 1 Lowest, ,
C Mean, . . ,
r Highest,
. 7 Lowest, ,
£ Mean, . . ,
86
70
76,9
90
81
86
87,5
77
82
82,5
75
80,6
81,5
77,5
79,7
82,5
73
78,3
78
59,5
70,5
72,5
46,5
53,2
65
46
55,4
53
39
45,3
60
41
50,7
66
47,5
55,5
£ past 2
Yearly means, 77,36
111,1
93,5
99,2
111,6
95
109,5
111,2
79
97,6
103,5
s.v.
94,1
96
79,7
89,1
98
80,5
90,1
94
85,5
89,9
88,5
74
79,1
70,5
63
67,9
77,5
62,5
68,4
76
70,5
73
94
77
84,2
88,05
97,75
89,8
87,35
84,6
84,2
80,1
66,25
61,65
Mean
range.
56,85 23,1
61,85
69,8
22,3
23,5
15,6
13,5
9,4
11,8
19,4
25,9
12,5
Sun-
rise
22,3
28,7
19,0
78
62,5
72
81
69
76,2
84
75
80,6
83,5
75
80,7
83
77
79,2
80,5
72
76,9
76
63
70
65
51
56,7
63
38
50,3
57
37,5
47,1
110,6
85
98,4
112,5
97
107,6
115,5
81
102,2
106,5
82
94,8
100,5
81
91,1
99
82,5
91,7
94
73,5
78,5
90
80,5
84,4
88
66,5
74,5
83
68
75,5
85,2
26,4
91,5 ! 31,4
91,7 I 21,6
87,75
85,15
84,3
79,2
14,1
1U
14,8
18,5
70,5 I 27,7
62,4
61,3
24,2
28,4
Radiation. — I also made a few experiments on Radiation towards the latter end
of the year 1832. The Thermometer was covered with black wool, and laid on
the grass. The following are the results :
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Miscellaneous.
605
V F<
1 9 3
A. M.
41 5 I
10
11 1
12 |
1
2
3
4
P.
fl
M.
6
7
1
9
10
11
12
■
137-5
144.5
140
126
103
HI
P
||
793
70
70 68.5
69.5
N
943
10H
131
140
140
138
132
122
106
M
H2
77.5
76
74
72-5
H
70..* i
71
108
129
138
140
135.5
129
119
m
78
n
;6
l&
*4
I >. t.
]
71
70.5 -•
140
119
79
|
74
., ..
142
141
1
4
75
142
142
76
m
71-
|
73
120
M
1
73
w
7->
7
75
129
m
,-'
|
713
7*
1
..
67-5
69.5
128
M
11
60
50.5
132
62
H
57
13H
64
M
::*7
68
M
59
124
102
«...
I
60
..
132
130
124
66
I subjoin, for the sake of comparison, the height of a Thermometer suspended in the
shade, during the above days.
ItS A. M.
P. M.
1
1
*
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
72
90
863
83
80
29
763
763
753
743
753
78*3
803
833
86.6
89.9
99.1
933
883
87.7
86,1
853
83
81
/9
/8
»
753
753
86.8
90
993
963
90
&3
81
79
;9
;8.4
;a
Ort.
..
76
7«
94
80
77.5
94 j
823
..
77^
96.8
823
..
..
7«
88.5
76
;j
..
..
74
883
76
..
74.9
903
76
..
75
87
84
74
72-i
..
• •
..
713 •
90
V/3
• .
• •
7L5
93
16
68.5
933
793
75.2
11
• •
• •
• .
68
92
IS
63
92
603
U
..
••
••
••
68.5
93
2.— Note on the Saldjit of Nipal.
To the Editor of the Journal of the Asiatic Society.
Dear Sir, — I have been much gratified and interested by reading Mr. Campbell's
paper on the native alum, or Saldjit of Nipal. I think it is more than probable,
that if an average sample of the various qualities were collected, and subjected to
analysis, the general result would be what Mr. C. has advanced, viz. about 66 per
cent, of sulphate of alumina. As I had only one quality to operate upon when
I made my analysis, why it was " Hobson'b choice" with me. Prom the informa-
tion I could gather from Nipal merchants, I am led to believe, that Mr. C. is per-
fectly correct as to the quantity that may be collected.
But what I am now going to state, may set the matter beyond a doubt. I have seen
the organic remains of an ammonite (Ammonites sacer of Sowbrbt) imbedded
in alum shale from the banks of the Gandak river in its early course. This per-
fectly agrees with specimens (now in my possession) which I formerly collected at
the alum works on the Yorkshire Coast to the north of Whitby. This fact I think
clearly proves the existence of alum shale strata in the secondary formations at the
foot of the Himalya range, and that it may extend through the bills of Nipal.
I also concur with Mr. C. relative to the tedious and expensive processes attending
the manufacture of alum at home ; so much so, that the return has scarcely equalled
the outlay. A friend of mine knows this to his cost.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
606 Miscellaneous. [Not.
I hare no doubt but European skill and capital will shortly torn to some account
these notices of a native, and valuable substance, which has not remained hidden,
but has been at least unknown to the generality of enterprising commercial men.
In conclusion, should this meet the eye of Mr. Campbell, I beg leave to thank
that gentleman for his kind offer of assistance, and will feel obliged by his tending
me samples, or specimens of the various kinds of Sal&jit, especially the black kind,
a variety which I have not yet seen. Any expense in collecting, or conveyance to
my address, (Singhea, Tirhoot,) will be cheerfully paid.
I am, dear Sir, &c.
10M Nov, 1833. J. Stevenson.
3. — Summary Sketch of the Geology of India.
[Extracted from the Rev. W. D. Conybeare's Report to the British Association at Oxford,1888.]
In Southern Asia, many of the British residents have been far from inactive ;
among these we may specify the names of Franklin, Voysey, Herbert, Chris-
tie, Low, Hardie, and Govan : but Calder's General Memoir on the Geology
of India conveniently and ably brings together in one view the substance of the
insulated observations of others.
From these sources we learn, that primitive formations, in which granitic rocks
bear the principal proportion, occupy not only the great Himalayan northern
chain, but also three-fourths of the entire peninsula, from the vale of the Ganges
below Patna to Cape Comorin ; although these rocks are frequently overlaid by a
thin crust of laterite (a ferruginous clay, considered as associated with the trap
formation). The transition formations have not been clearly distinguished; the
secondary formations described are : — 1. The carboniferous group. Coal has
been said to occur extensively in the grits bounding the southern slope of the Him-
alaya ; but it has been questioned, whether this formation is the older coal, or
only lignite associated with nagelflue, (as on the slope of the Alps ;) it has been
particularly described however where the river Tista issues from this chain (88°
35' Long. E.), and there undoubtedly bears all the characters of the older formation ;
its strata are highly inclined, whereas the tertiary beds, and even most of the se-
condary in this part of India, are horizontal : but the only coal district regularly
worked is that on the river Damuda, about 100 miles N. W. of Calcutta ; this
extends on the banks of that river about 60 miles, and appears from its fossil
lycopodia to be undoubtedly the older coal ; it reposes apparently on the surround-
ing primitive rocks, but it has been conjectured, that it may possibly extend across
the delta of the Ganges to Silhet (almost 306 miles distant at the eastern extre-
mity of Bengal) ; it seems doubtful however whether the Silhet coal be not really
modern lignite, as tertiary rocks certainly prevail in that quarter. No carboni-
ferous limestone has been observed.
2. Next to the coal we have to notice a great sandstone formation, which is
usually considered equivalent to our new red sandstone ; this includes many varia-
tions of character, comprising, besides sandstone and conglomerates, shales often
approximating to older slate ; the diamond mines of Panna (in Bundelkhand) and
of the Golconda district are situated in this formation, the matrix being a conglo-
merate bed with quartzose pebbles : rock salt and gypsum are found where this
formation extends on the N. W. into the great basin of the Indus : the stratifica-
tion is uniformly horizontal : no organic remains' occur. Beginning at the Ganges
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 607
on the east, this formation first shows itself, supporting basalt, on the Rajmahal
hills ; it again prevails throughout the interval between the confluences of the
river S6n (Soane) and of the Jamna with the Ganges, and thence stretches across
W. S. W. through the Bundelkhand district to the banks of the Nermada (Ner-
budda), which flows into the Gulf of Cambay, as far as 79° Long. £. ; where it is
overlaid by the eastern extremity of the great basaltic district of North-western
India near Sagar : the red sandstone shews itself again emerging from beneath the
north-western edge of this basaltic district, at Nfmach, near the western sources
of the Chambal (the great southern branch of the Jamna) and at Baug, in the
valley of the Nermada. In both places, as also along the central portion of the
platform before described, stretching through Malwa, it is frequently covered with
a thin crust of grey argillaceous limestone, supposed to represent our lias, bnt
nearly destitute of organic remains, although a single gryphite is said to have been
found. The general absence of organic remains in the secondary rocks of India is
remarkable ; but Mr. Voysbt mentions an argillaceous bed full of fossil shells
(species not stated) beneath the trap of the Gawilgarh hills (between the conflu-
ences of the Tapti and Puma, in the Berar district :) the same lias-like beds occur
with the red sandstone of the Golconda district. A primitive range, extending
from near Delhi to the head of the Gulf of Cambay, separates the secondary rocks
of Malwa from those of the great basin of the Indus ; but on the western borders
of this ridge through Ajrair, the red sandstone again shews itself, containing rock-
salt and gypsum. The whole of this immense basin appears to have been hitherto
geologically neglected, although it would probably best repay such an examination,
for here if any where in India, we might most probably expect a fuller series of
secondary rocks. Mr. Govan has observed at the very source of the Satlej, one
of the chief tributaries of the Indus, amid the highest primitive peaks of Himalaya,
a small basin of secondary limestone, containing ammonites and cardia.
3. Tertiary rocks at the foot of the first rise of the primitive rocks of the
Himalaya, in the north west of Bengal, where the Brahmaputra issues from them
at the pass of the Garrow hills ; cerithuB, turritelU, remains of lobsters, sharks,
crocodiles, &c. are here found, and further east, nummulite limestone prevails at
Silhet. The soil throughout Bengal is often occupied by deposits of clay, contain-
ing concretionary lumps of limestone, called hankar ; this, which affords the
principal supply of lime in India, is probably of very recent origin. It remains
only to notice the great basaltic district of the north-west. This extends from
Nagpur, in the very centre of India, to the western coasts between Goa and
Bombay, occupies the whole of that coast to its termination at the Gulf of Cam-
bay, and thence penetrates northwards as far as the 24th parallel of north lati-
tude.
In the Burmese Empire we find primitive rocks in the chains above Ava, but
tertiary beds, with the characteristic shells, in the valley of the Irrawady, near
Prome ; also remains of the mastodon, &c. in the diluvial gravel. West of this
the whole chain of the Malayan peninsula is primitive, consisting principally of
stanniferous granite.
I believe that the above, condensed as it is, willbe found the fullest general
account of the pi ogress as yetmade in Indian geology, hitherto presented to the
public.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
608
Meteorological Register.
[Nov. 1833.
I
r
EC
II
it
'3UIU9A3
*UOOM
'Svfoion
'SUIU3A3
•uoojsi
'dmiuoK
•saipui
w *d * %V
■ivvonv
*■ "5 3 flj 1? £ tj **» <& m SJ »i .
1 ^ I
»jooo"3d'a' 3 oS3*joooo3o!30oi*300ooo"5o
gflfBggg^fljjgJ'a -s-o •© £ "C g -a •© 3 S> -a -o -a -c -e £-3
2oS§
g^-S^^
t g *3 a * £ E-a-o-cs-O'ca-o-c-a e 8 "O ■= -o "b *e .5
EO^*6d*Edd6s^6cd6*^c<*x^*.d6s<5d
- . . . . * * ? d . E * * ......>*.►.*
p BE B * E C BB^c
BE 9>^ C.ctf. ...*■••*..
. . e *» d © o o • .ocooo.c. .ocoo.coo .e j
OO B^ O Q © c E
SR3SS3aS3S88R5S33sF:SaSSS5RSSSsa
8&SSSS8S&3£&3283s38S5Ss§s&SS5S8
o r»x » ** l^f- C « « 36 *VO; — P*j O -h iQX r-x *Nq t^ -n ** «"i 3-. — O
«r>« c "5^ x *>» *>»r*. cj »*> — " t--t>-e» o xw« fls o« o «««q xe< t*s<
re-vfr jv
r'C^>~r~^XX^^^Wno^^«X^^c$c"><N<-'iXXXe'3«M
i .
II
Ho
■is
!icc-!e»«c»^ve*ef;c'«'o«Ni";jcM!»5i>i«ss
b oo s* -r 55 -<r xt^x^ ox sntf -noNwigos «o — x 3 x r>»«
3§6tt3@888533$£385eo8Soo35*885S858«
£q *x«iv
x b — s^otiCiMic'iseoc:^: BBfMXBBB— so
8 S tfiSS Saf 8S?888?88Sfs8f8SSf!?aSfi 3 3 3 S S
Ic;-. wcsxoo^^e* «^w©xx o^x ^x « b x^»^« x x*a
Sfi xxsss9xxs i^.t^,«^.t>ir^r>.i>*r>.r-x »KNNt*NNKr*
U1MU1UII[\
-*u"-fi7?K f" xn-«o? f-i'w'w-f-f'c'o z* B*-f rC-" wr7r?x x
s&SSSSSBssssSsSSiSSSSssSsis
lS68SSB8858ei88S88aHaia8KHB
8SiS§8§s§S8iB§3§§8S8&8S833SB88
•wvf* iv
'qilKHU
|9§!8&3iiB8§!8&S!Se9!SII|93i|l
S.S
ii
si
a -a
15
I
B 3
Ii
|£
5
— w x ■* « x t>»re c:c-«9»" , )'KO» t-x c
«o«Soioi'?i^Sr§^iJ5
Digiti
zed by G00gle
JOURNAL
THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.
No. 24.— December, 18J3.
I. — A short Account of the Charak Puja Ceremonies, and a Description of
the Implements used. By Ram Comul S6n, Native Secretary, Asiatic
Society. ^s
[Read before the Asiatic Society, in 1899.] *?
In describing the instruments used in the Charak Sanydsa presented
by me for the Museum of the Asiatic Society, a short notice of the origin
and practice of the ceremony appears to be necessary to illustrate
the subject.
The word Charak is derived from Chakra or Charaka, which means a
circle, and is used to signify moving or swinging in a circular direction ; *
Charak Sanydsa implies leaving off worldly business, living abstemi-
ously, observing austerities, for the propitiation of Siva. It is a festi-
val improperly termed by many Charak Puja, perhaps from the notion
that every ceremony observed by the Hindus of Bengal, is a puja or
religious worship ; and whether it be performed by a muchi or
chanddla, is considered as Hinduism, and the whole body of the Hin-
dus are charged with the absurdity of the act.
There are two kinds of Sanydsas, called Siva Sanydsa, and Dherma
Sanydsa ; the first is celebrated in the month of Chaitra, and the second
in Baisdkha ; the people who practise these Sanydsas are termed
Sanydsis, and the priest who presides in the ceremony is called a
Gajaneyd brahman : the Charak festival is also called Gajana, (Gd or
Grama, village ; jana, people,) being observed by the villagers. There
are several ranks amongst the Sanydsis, such as Mula or head;
Dhula, or subordinate ; Sain, or followers. The time occupied by the
Charak Sanydsa is a whole month, and that of the Dherma is a fort-
night ; during this time the Sanydsis live abstemiously, and observe
various ceremonies to be noticed below.
3 K
Digiti
zed by G00gle
610 A short Account of the Charak PCja Ceremonies, [Dbc. 1833.
This act is performed by the Sudra class only, and generally by the
lowest castes and most dissipated characters ; some of them consider
it as an act of piety and religion, in commemoration of the austerities
performed by Vana Raja, a king and Daitya, who by acts of self-torture
and denial obtained the special favour of Maha'deva, and who first
introduced the festival ; but the greatest number engage in it as a
lucrative exhibition, or from a desire to acquire a character for courage
in the opinion of their friends. In some cases, the rite is compulsory :
the parents make a vow to Siva, when involved in trouble and disas-
ters, that their children shall perform S any as as, for a certain number
of years, which the sons must fulfil.
The form and manner of S any as as varies : the original ceremonies
don sis ted of,
1 . Phala Sanydsa, playing with fruits.
2. Phula Sanydsa, do. flowers.
3. Nila Sanydsa, worshipping Nilavati, a goddess.
4. Jhula Sanydsa, hanging, and
5. Charak, swinging. These have been multiplied, and additions
have been introduced by the people according to their fancy.
The original rules have mostly fallen into disuse, and new ones
have been substituted, as convenience required. The time of Sanydsa
has been reduced from 30 days to 15, 8, 4, and 2, and in some cases
only one day is taken. The ceremony which was called an act of piety,
is converted into an occasion of dissipation, drinking, gambling, and
acts of immorality.
The following are the ceremonies at present in practice :
1 . Phala Bhang a and Kant a Sanydsa, or falling upon the branches
of prickly plants, spread on the ground, collecting them, as well as fruits,
and living solely upon fruits : the Sanydsis go in company, and
climb upon date and cocoanut trees, and collect fruits ; when they
come back to the place of Siva, with the fruits so collected, they throw
and distribute the same ; they also receive presents of fruits. Barren
women resort to the place, on the occasion, and spread cloths, on
which if by accident a fruit falls, they receive it with joy as an omen
of their becoming pregnant through the favour of Siva ; at the same
season, the Mula Sanydsi with his deputy goes into a forest, a burial
place, or on the bank of river, &c. and there performs the worship of
Yam a (king of death), and presents, as offerings to the evil spirits, boiled
rice and roasted fish.
Pdtd Sanydsa. — Falling from a scaffold erected before Siva, upon
a row of Bati or knives. It is called Hdta Sandysa and Ghdti
Digitized by
Google
Dec. 1833.] and a Description of the Implements used. 611
Sanyasa, because the scaffold is erected in a market place, and on the
bank of a river ; afterwards when the Sanydsis return to the temple
of Siva, they lie on their backs, upon the bare ground, in a row, close
to each other, and the Gajanaya Brahman passes over them, treading
upon their breasts.
Phula Sanyasa. — Collecting and playing with fuel ; which they often
procure by plundering gardens, and carrying off railings, loose doors,
window frames, &c. They then make a large bonfire in the evening,
and jump and walk over the flame, and play with the burnt charcoal,
throwing the same upon one another ; this is also called Aguna San-
yasa.
Nila Sanyasa — is the worship of Nilava'ti, a wife of Siva : the
Sanyasis visit Kalighat or temples of Sacti and Siva, where they pierce
their sides, tongues, and the skins of their foreheads. This is called
Bona Phord, and on the occasion they collect presents and gifts from
the spectators, who far from encouraging these self-tortures, pay
them something to get rid of the sight of their bleeding limbs.
J hula Sanydsa, — is climbing upon a scaffold, hanging with the
head downward, and making a fire below. The fire is fed with the
powder of Indian pitch.
Charak. — Eating Chehatu or bran, and swinging on the Charak Gdch
or post, erected for the purpose. Among these Sanydsis there are
several other ceremonies of note, some of which must be noticed here :
Khdtuni, shaking and turning the head, rolling about the shrine of
Siva, beating the forehead, sitting up all night, and singing
Tarja, or songs addressed to Siva ; sometimes, but not always, in his
praise. Phula hd ddna, extracting or receiving the flowers laid upon the
Linga, which they think fall down at their solicitation ; and prayers to
the god, who is pleased to throw them down as a sign of affirmation or
negation to the question made to him by the Mula Sanydsi, or the
priest for himself or on behalf of his friends. If the flower does not
come down after a certain time, it is then supposed that the god is not
propitiated, and the Dcyule, (proprietor,) Mandala, (agent,) the Mala,
(head,) and other Sanydsis, and sometimes the priest himself, are tied up
by the hands, and suspended to the verandah, all round the shrine of
Siva, while the Sanydsis redouble their Khdtuni before the idol, and
the drummer beats his drum with all strength; the Sanydsis and others
remain suspended from off the ground till the flowera fall. The
flowers are at first laid upon one another, and then placed upon the
top of the Linga, which is oiled, and is consequently slippery : water
is thrown upon it by drops, which assists to wash off the flowers, and
3 k 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
612 A short Account of the Charak Pdja Ceremonies, [Dec. 1833.
when it is obstinate, some person on the part of the priest, contrives to
knock it off with a stick unperceived.
Description qf the Instruments used in the Charak, qf which Specimens are deposited
in the Museum and numbered accordingly.
The Vetrasana is an instrument made of ratan, No. 1 -. it means a seat of ratan,
it is the staff of the Sanydsi, a number of ratan folded in the middle and tied np
together, leaving a few inches open in the lower part, in an oval form, the upper
part is kept loose. Its use is various — it is a sacred ensign of authority, which
must be respected on particular occasions by the Sanydsis, who rattle it as their
musical instrument, in their procession ; it is made a broom for cleaning the place
of Siva, where the use of common broom is forbidden during the Charak. It
serves as a weapon, with which they fight, or beat down the bundle of thorns used
in the Kdnta Sanyo 8a upon which they fall ; they use it in playing with the
burnt charcoal in Phula Sanydsa ; it is used as ropes laid under the pot or
bag No. 2, in the Pat Sanyasa. When any dispute or difference arises between
the priest and Sanydsis, or when the latter in their procession meet with another
party, they lay down the Vetrasana across the road and the entrance to the boose
of Siva, and the party against whom it is laid down must instantly stop; it is a
sacred bar which they must not pass over without violating the law of Charak, and
committing a sin which would disqualify them from becoming Sanydsis again.
They are finally allowed to pass only in compliance with certain conditions ; and
certain questions relative to Siva, delivered in verses, called Tarja, must be
likewise answered before the new comers are allowed to pass, and beat their drum,
or do any business.
Sutasana, or a cord of twisted thread, No. 3 ; it is in two pieces, which they
pass beneath the skin of the sides, arms and thighs ; the ends are held by two
Sanydsis or assistants, whilst the man dances and passes to and fro. This
purpose is also answered by log-line, No. 4, ratan, No. 5, split bambu, No. 6.
Dasnakhiy (No. 7,) two pieces of iron rod, about 2 feet long : one end is pointed,
which is passed into the sides, and the other is fork-shaped with prongs, each of
which is called nakha, or nails, or finger-nail ; the two pieces have often 10 nails,
hence it is called dasa-nakhi or ten-fingered, but it is has often three prongs :
the upper ends are flat, and laid upon one another, which serves as a bed for
fire, or a lamp, made of cotton dipped in ghee ; which is lighted, and upon this
the powder of Indian pitch is from time to time thrown, so as to make a blaze,
while the Sanydsi dances as he goes.
Bati, or knife, No. 8. — Eight in number, fixed upon two pieces of boards, in a
leaning posture, placed upon a bag, No. 2, stuffed with straw. This bag is held
by four persons, aloft from the ground, and two Sanydsis join their Brtdsawa
No. 1, and lay the same across, to render to the bag additional strength, and tbe
Sanydsis fall upon it from the scaffold, No. 9.
Visesaya, No. 10, or nails to the number of 120 ; one end is flat, the other is
pointed and sharp, these are run into the skin of the forehead, upon both arms,
and breast, in an ornamental form, close to each other, usually like the front or
facing of a jacket. To the ends of tbe nails small beads or peas are attached or
suspended like garlands hanging upon the forehead, and small pieces of tale are
suspended by way of decoration.
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by
Google
JimrAf-Soc
&t./z.n.ttn
B
Si.
•V'"-, } ■'&
ft^-»
yy*
^A
y^z
0»»oCl
r>.
r
fiif
&
(>»\
fj'M.
. ~. 4 *OWi ^^.
Digitized by "
Dec. 1833.] Specimens of Ornamental Forms of Persian Writing. 6J3
Bantu, Nos. 11, 12, 13, or arrows, iron rods of various sizes and thickness, used
according to the strength and courage of the Sanydsis, whose tongues and sides
are bored, and the rods are let in, which they often move about. When it
is perforated, the tongue and the rod rest upon the lower jaw, or are held between
his teeth ; if it be heavy, another person holds the ends.
Kupali, No. 14, is an iron rod or nail : the lower end is pointed, and is passed
through the skin of the forehead, the man holding it close to his nose, or a ban-
dage is tied round the head, to prevent it from falling ; a small lamp is attached to
its top, which he burns on the day of Nila.
Charak ktinta, No. 15, or swinging hooks. * The Charakl, or one who swings,
is often of the bearer caste, and ether people, not Sanydsu, volunteer for this
act, through the effect of liquor.
The skin of the back being drawn out, a perforation is made with a lancet, No. 16,
on each side of the back-bone, and the hooks, No. 15, are let in; the twine attached
to the hooks is tied to the rope, suspended to the Charak Gdcha, No. 17. If the skin
of the Sanydti is thin, or he is weak, a bandage of cloth is tied round his chest, to
prevent the hooks from giving way, as when they break the Sanydti falls, and is
generally killed ; the standers by also are sometimes severely hurt.
No. 18, 19, 20 and 21, Belkart, or lancets of various sizes and thickness: with
these the skin is bored. These are not kept by the Sanyatit, but procured from cer-
tain kumart (blacksmiths), who attend the place where the Sanydtit meet, and
receive a certain fee, which varies from 2 annas to 2 rupees for each subject. The
lancets are of various sizes, and a number is always brought by the operator.
Nagapata, No. 22, two long pieces of iron, with a snake head, hooded top ; two of
these are run into the neck and back of the head, and brought down to the waist *
each has two borings at least, one on the head skin and one on the back. The San-
ydti who can submit to this torture is considered a great hero, and when two simi-
lar ones are put in, he cannot turn or bend his body without breaking the skin
through which tbey are bored.
There is also a head piece, No. 23, made of iron put upon the head ; it has 3 to
5 pieces fixed to it like the hoods of serpents.
Charak Gdch, No. 17, or a post, commonly of saul wood, for swinging : it is
from 29 to 30 feet long, fixed into the ground, the upper part has a notch, or
socket, called Mocha, B ; in which a movable pivot is let in, called Khak&yl. On
this, a cross piece made of barabfts 5 to 10 in number is tied up together, and placed
across the Khakdyi ; to both ends of the cross thick ropes are suspended, one of which
is tied to the hook, No. 15, and on which the Charakl swings.
II. — Specimens of some Ornamental Forms of Persian Writing. By
Mahd Raja Kali Kishen Behadur, of Calcutta. )*i r
The accompanying figures, representing some beautiful poetical
inventions of the latest authors, are extracted and translated from a
Persian book called " Mujmua-us-sandyd" (or Collection of Arts,) com •
piled by Nizam- ud-Di'n Ahmed, son of Muhammbd Sanih, in the
vear 1060, Hejri.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
614 Specimens of Ornamental Forms of Persian Writing. [Dbc. 1833 .
Fig. 1. (Plate xxi.) LjyLxJ 1 Ulmadqiib, or anagram that retains
the same meaning, even when it is read in various directions.
In this, the central * (m) is the first letter of every hemistich. The
reading will run equally well by beginning first from ^ towards B, thence
continuing towards A, and from A returning to ^ ; then back again
from ^ to A ; from A to C ; and back again to ^ ; further, from to
C; then from C to D; and finally from D back again to ^. — Trans-
lation.
" I am dead on your separation and have no soul in my body,
For God's sake hear my sorrowful lamentation.
I have no marrow in my bones, O love, be kind to me,
Happy if I instantly die when separated from you."
Fig. 2. ^**<J| Ulmoshojur } the arborescent form.
In this the Arabic letter m is round, differing from the shape of
the Persian. *, placed in the centre of the circle of which the branches
form radii, is the beginning of each word ; and the stars 1 , 2, 3, 4, mark
the end of as many hemistichs ; the reading of the first begins semicir-
cularly from B to C. — Translation.
" I am fond of the curled locks of beauties,
And I am captivated by their moon-like faces.
I drink wine and am constantly a drunkard in the tavern.
And I give thanks to the God of the heavenly kingdom."
Figs. 3 and 4. jJUJ 1 Ulmoaqqad, or the representation of knots.
From the central . commencing along either side at the letter E or
F, and terminating where we set out, we shall arrive at the conclusion
of two hemistichs.
The reading of either hemistich should be directed alternately
from the right and the left hand, in order not to lose their respective
sense and metre. — Translation.
" Be not intoxicated, and do not go to the intoxicated ones,
O thou possessed of moon-like face ;
Do not display vanity like the brilliant moon.
Thou hast charmed hermits, kings, and angels,
Bewitched the beauties by thy moon-like face."
Figs. 5, 6, and 7. The beauty of the construction of these three figures
is, that the reading may follow any order of the compartments without
altering the sense. — Translation.
" The world with its riches is under your subjection,
O Love, it is tyranny that thou hast not afflicted my heart :
Alas, there is no faith in the world ; alas, there is no faith in the world."
Fig. 8. mj^i | Ulmorabaa, or a quadrilateral figure containing four
hemistichs, and these are read in both horizontal and perpendicular
Digitized by
Google
D*c. 1833.] Abstract of Capt. Gerard's Meteorological Journal. 615
directions, beginning either from any of the four upper compartments
downwards, or from any of the four perpendicular compartments of
B, D, sideways, froTi right to left ; and the same verse will be found.
"lam inconstant affliction owing to the absence of that raviaher of my heart ;
That ravisher of my heart whose love keeps me awake with affliction.
I am constantly in pain without a companion and without a friend ;
I am sick, I am awake, and without a friend and without a sympathizer."
Fig. 9tj[ Jj^* Shakl-i A~rah, or saw-like form. The ^UjI Abedti
distichs are read in the usual manner as follows :
J*>£~&J ^AL C^oO ^X* J&'JLSJ L£~aM*
III. — Description of an Indian Balance, called Tula. By the same.
[Presented at the Meeting of the 31st July.]
This instrument is made out of common wood, but generally Sundri
(Herritiera minor) is used.
It is employed by the Musulmdn Kdghazy, or paper -makers, for the
purpose of weighing old and useless papers ; it is also used for weigh-
ing cotton, as well as thread, by native weavers of both sexes.
The marks of division around the beam are the indications of different
weights, as particularized in the accompanying drawing.
The larger string, named wazni rassi (or the string for suspending
weights), is introduced through a perforation at the end of the beam ;
and the little one, termed neti, is for holding by the fingers to ascertain
the weight, by applying it on one or other of the marks above alluded to.
The accompanying plate (Plate xxii. fig 8) is one quarter the ordinary
size of the instrument, but some are a little larger, and others smaller.
It is in principle similar to the Roman steel -yard, the frdcrum shifting
instead of the weight.
IV. — Abstract of a Meteorological Journal, kept at Kotgarh, (Lat.Z\ Q
18' 45" N. Long! 77° 27' 4tf" E.J Subathu, and the intermediate
places in the Himdlaya mountains, for 1819-20. By Captain Patrick
Gerard, 9th Regt. B. N. I. «V >
The voluminous nature of these journals, which were presented
by Captain Gerard to the Asiatic Society some years ago, has hitherto
prevented their seeing the light. The very circumstance which consti-
tutes their value as a record, — the minute detail for every hour of the
day, continued with little interruption by an indefatigable observer, for
a period of two years, — having in the end thwarted his views and his
Digiti
zed by G00gle
616 Abstract of a Meteorological Journal, [Dec. 1833.
reward, while they have deprived the scientific of a most valuable and
will digested register of meteorological data. It wo aid be impossible
to devote space for their entire publication in the pages of this jour-
nal, but such an abstract as we have gleaned from many similar tables
on former occasions, and which will suffice for most purposes of a gene-
ral nature, especially for that we have hitherto kept in view, — the fixing
of the constants of diurnal and monthly range of heat and pressure for
as many points as possible on the continent of India, — we now with
permission present to our readers : prefixing Captain Gerard's account
of his instruments and of his method of observing.
" With regard to the tables which I now transmit, I beg to state that, generally
speaking, the means of the observations, whether of the barometer or thermome-
ters, attached or inside, and detached or outside, in the air and shade, taken daring
a march or halt or temporary intermediate place of encampment, are deduced from
the highest during the day, and lowest the following morning, which will furnish a
correct mean of the place for the day. The attached or inside thermometer at
Kotgarh was rather open to a westerly aspect, the observations being taken in a
room of the house to the westward, thereby shewing a somewhat higher temperature
than if taken in a room towards the north. This was merely done for the sake of
convenience. The detached or outside thermometer was suspended on a pole
fixed in the ground for this special purpose, apart from the house, from day .break
or early in the morning, to the north-west side for nearly half, and to the N.
N. E. side for the remainder of the day, in the air and shade, to obviate as
much as possible the sudden effects arising from reflection from the earth and the
sun's rays in clear, settled, and hot weather ; which would thereby indicate a high •
er, and consequently somewhat a more incorrect temperature of the air, than it
otherwise ought to do, had it been hung at a considerable distance from any build-
ing better situated and free from the influence of all or any degree of reflection, so
liable at all times to raise it above the true standard.
The barometer used during the two years, to insure accuracy as far as practica-
ble in the instrument, was unexceptionable in every respect, being filled with
pure mercury, carefully revived from cinnabar, by distillation in a retort, with the
filings of iron, and gradually boiled over a slow charcoal fire from the sealed end
upwards, which process is always tedious and difficult of accomplishment.
As not less than ten or twelve observations were taken and recorded daily with
nicety, the correctness of the following tables may be relied on.
I possessed no instruments for ascertaining the density and humidity of the al •
mosphere, evaporation, or the quantity of rain which has fallen during the years
under review. The winds stated as stormy, strong, brisk, steady, moderate, gentle,
little, and light, have been estimated by their supposed strength unaided by a guage,
to indicate their actual force. The same may be noticed in regard to the quality
and appearance of the clouds.
The sudden creation and increase of clouds, spontaneously rising from dells
and valleys, subsequent to rain and snow*, more especially during the periodical
* During the rainy months, the clonds, after rising, forming, and collecting, ascend to
a certain altitnde, and generally remain stationary, and frequently d ay after day about
the same time come down again in rain.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] kept at Kotgarh, Subathu, be. 617
rainy and winter seasons, on the hither or Indian side of the Himalaya range (the
opposite or ultra side of the Himalaya being little subjected, and that only for a
short distance into the interior, from the loftiness of this grand and extensive bar-
rier of mountains separating India from other parts of Asia, to such a deluge), are
more astonishing to the beholder than I have words to describe, and their total dis-
appearance in a short space of time (sometimes indeed almost in a moment) is equal-
ly surprising. I have often remarked these without any apparent cause during calm
settled weather, moving in all directions in heavy loose masses ; at other times with
incredible velocity, resembling spray, down a ridge or valley, till they reach a cer-
tain point, when they evaporate, and in an instant disappear. Sometimes they may
be seen in all shapes and curious forms, and frequently they accumulate and dis-
perse in a manner quite astonishing to the spectator. They will rest for days, and
even weeks, upon the top, and the slopes of the high surrounding ranges and moun-
tains, defining a clear outline around*, thereby condensing and confining the atmos-
phere within certain limits at an altitude of 8000 feet and upwards, (rarely at a less
elevation for any time,) above two or three days, and making it close and some-
times unpleasant to the feelings, although the thermometer may indicate a low tem-
perature at the time ; and often in clear, cloudless temperature and mild weather,
small patches may be seen stationary in some places, and suddenly gliding along
and up the declivity or slope towards the tops of the mountains, and dispersing
quickly in othersf.
The principal places at which any number of observations were taken are Ram-
pur, Kotgarh and Subathu. At intermediate places, during a march or tempo-
rary halt, the observations taken were recorded.
The latitude, longitude, and elevation above the level of the seat, together with
the name of each village, town, and encampment, on the journeys made each year ;
the state in which comprised ; and to what authority now subject, will be found
detailed in a table or " List of Places, &c." at the end of the abridgement, and other
tables for each year.
The point of ebullition and the temperature of springs, rivers, and streams have
not been omitted at most places in the subsequent sheets, during a journey. The
utility of the former, when unaccompanied with a barometer, is too evident almost
to need illustration. It will give a tolerable idea of the elevation of different sta-
tions ; while the second, which were only ascertained at a few places, will nearly
shew the mean temperature of the year at different altitudes ; and the latter will
certainly, from the diminution of temperature, indicate a tolerable estimate of the
distance of the source of the rivers in the water of which the thermometer may
have been dipped, and an observation taken of its temperature. If rivers and streams
indicate a high temperature, the source of them may reasonably be considered to be
remote ; but if a low temperature be evinced, the contrary may be supposed to be
the case. Certain local circumstances and influences may in some degree affect the
temperature of rivers."
• These remarks apply to Kotgarh and its neighbourhood, and indeed from Simla op-
wards, as I can affirm from my own long observation.
\ The san*s rays after rising have in general this effect
% For these on the present as well as on the former occasion I am indebted to my
brother, Captain A. Gerard, late Surveyor in Rajputana and Malwa ; and for a few of
the latter, and partly some of the observations of the barometer and thermometer dur-
ing my occasional short visits to Subathu, to my brother Mr. J. G. Gerard, Surgeon to
the lat Nassiri battalion, stationed in these mountains.
3 L
Digiti
zed by G00gle
618
Abitract of Meteorological Journal
[Dec.
$
o . J2 £
SI "So d
III ! i's
.1
fe- 2
5S*
t«*c*?Q»n^roCTi — j* to ec r*
f" AVOUS
J*pn°13
c* — ^"ifi'ie m c* c* c» cc — ©
c*cncftsnx — *g « 'C^**
ooKKeioeeotiotnion
2
eotcin^aocnco© — lO b» ©
~5P ^ '£ 2 J2 2 ° ° ** ?* — —
cs o.=
fc * *
*» E 09
<0^
(8 5 ^
I b 5 4 J ■& g «. ~ § p^ *1
he 2««^fcc
eo ~ © «— ^Ti^ tio" I | «s
IS-
&t-f<0 | — © ^ lO t© 2 — — .
~Kc* | j c» to e*^~ © — e*Sg|~
I 2« 00 2^cS2
r^^« | ««p52 2 ~~°
«occ^cc©in~*» I I I <* & t-t©t© I ~~«* - o»«
&3S Id I I 13 I I
510 m «(^fs,
I I I 1 |cci« -* to x ©
I I I U'J'O to o o o
eocoiriinmt^totoin^CMco
c* oe in © in in ** © 00 ©?*«* tv
W«-*iOiO«OCOCO i« ^>^co *»
i f^i ec o 1 3
— -«» © — C»"»©
I I I I lr«.^ts. £* toeC© 15
*^ © in ►*» to x —
£ » ~ m Tt , <?i =x Ls
iOtOXt>. ©in**
t in x ^- to © 7*^0 oors —
I c4 ?o cs — * oi a: oo © in x to
s^rtot^tot^tototom^-r
tetqTfinecx-fin r-> r^, — -*
o-t — K^incicio to c> to ©
^•tifl'OO'CICN tO iOO"»
s
C* C: ^- T* I s * -^ CC O O — < to
— srlf^o'iir^toriO^iO
TflOto•ot>.toteln»n , * ^*_
i^ .c*. ?* — re — • cc © o in ->o
5totCt6oot^^«5to^"*
ON<oo«c-q to ospooe i —
dwdciracox t" *.o k! "^ jo
-t -rt in in -o to "o to to *o »n ^» (^n
"f- ^ ^ ^ t - 1 t? "fc~~ijr5X"» I to
w £ r^ oo to « 2 . s r
C>X30 iftC^Ci 6 «« Ci
to in to in ■» ^# m iq «o to «n
— ?clc S S o ^ ?* tp!*i T e*
oct ^?:kc 6 O- to
toSto iin"^"*^ ^t mo i tS
tOCi X
ts. in in
" S3
I |W
S22 §SSS S S3 IS
totoc^ ito-t"»in in tooi a
s
<J» ^ >— CO . o» ^- JO
. 5 £ S
St £ 5 O «;' O
— — m'T*
"* j K !« b 5»4 ^."a:.^^^*; > u I -of
u :
11 lil ili
c -£ o . - ^ « © ^
: s w _ -
2 "o .t; « o .t; "S .^ .t- .t5 ja * B *"
Digitized by
Google
1833.] kept at Kotgarh, Subathu, SfC. 619
With exception of the month of April, so inviting to & resident in the
hills tor expeditions into the higher and more remote parts of the vast
Himalayan range, we find in the foregoing abstract, besides three months
at Subathu, a nearly complete annual series of barometrical observations
for Kotgarh, a station more than 6000 feet elevated above the sea*, and
far enough within the first range of hills to obviate the effects of the cur-
rents of air from the plains,as observed in theDehra Dun by Dr. RoYLEf.
It must not be expected that the regularity observed on the level continent
of India will be found in the march of the barometer in a mountainous coun-
try, where fluctuations of temperature, moisture, and wind are much more
frequent and sudden than in the plains ; still the same general curve ob-
tains through the year, and the diurnal rise and fall is regular and of the
same nature as in the plains, not a negative oscillation as is observed at
great elevations on the Alps. The average diurnal oscillation or fall from
10 a, m. to 4 p. m. is 0.063 inch : to which adding one-fourth (or, as 30
in. to 23 in.) to render it comparable with the oscillation under a pres-
sure of 30 inches, we have .079, which is only two- thirds of the daily
oscillation at SeharanpurJ, as deduced from Dr. Rotlb's registers ; we
may therefore conclude that at a greater elevation, we should observe
a still further decrease until, passing zero, the diurnal oscillation would
become negative ; that is, the barometer would rise from 10 a. m. to
4 p. m . as observed at the convent of St. Bernard's. The solution of this
curious question and the determination of the zero or no oscillation alti-
tude, may probably be obtainable from the journals of Captain Gerard
or his brother, Dr. J. G. Gerard, who is known to have reached an alti-
tude of 17000 feet, barometer in hand ; and we may confidently trust to
their joint exertions in elucidation of it : for one fact of this nature esta-
bished on certain data will better repay their labours in the course of
meteorology than even a lengthened series of ordinary observations.
The thermometrical range out of doors is incomplete, the minimum
only being registered : there cannot however be a wide difference be*
tween the monthly mean, in-doors, and in the open air. The monthly va-
riations deduced from the latter column, (the monthly mean's) or from
the column of exterior minima, give nearly the same annual curvature.
The following table (column o) takes it from the interior mean. April
and October are the two average months for temperature as well as for
pressure, but the months of January and February present an anomaly
in the barometer being lower than usual for those months in both the
years under review.
* 6915 feet, by Capt. Herbert, As. Res. xiv. 336 ; 6600 by subsequent correc-
tion, vol. xv. 413.
f See his note on the hour of maximum temperature in the hills. Jour. As.
Soc. vol. i. p. 97.
t Journal, i. 30.
3 l 2
Digiti
zed by G00gle
620
Abstract of a Meteorological Register
[D.
Table of the mean Monthly and Diurnal Range of the Barometer and Tkermom
ter at Kotgark in 1819—20, (the month April being interpolated,) deduced fro
Captain Gerard s journals.
Barometer. | Thermometer.
Month.
A.
Mean
height.
B.
Deviation
frcm mean
annual
height.
c.
Mean
diurnal
oscilla-
tion.
D.
Mean of
minima in
the open
air.
K.
Mean of
maxima in
doors.
r.
Mean
tempe-
rature
in
doors.
o.
Deviation
from mean
annual
tempera-
ture.
B.
Mean
diurnal
range
(«.— 3.)
January,..
February,
March, . . .
April, ....
May,
June, ....
Jnly,
August,.. .
September,
October, . .
November,
December,
in
23.592
632
.686
.623
.659
.461
.495
.501
.522
.639
.693
.711
23.693
in
-.001
+.039
+.093
+.040
-.0.34
—.132
—.098
—.092
-.071
+.046
+.100
+.118
in
0.052
.052
.062
.067
.074
.068
.061
.062
.058
.072
.063
.064
o
33.4
.353
43.5
47.
52.4
60.5
60.8
60.6
54.2
48.9
37.2
39.3
~47~
o
40.9
45.0
522
58.
64.7
72.1
71.4
71.4
69.3
62 5
49.5
46.6
o
39.5
435
51.4
57.
634
69.8
69.3
69.6
66.7
59.7
48.3
45.0
o
—20.4
-1.3 4
— 65
+ 0.1
+ 6.5
+-12.9
4-124
+ 12.7
+ 9.8
+ 28
— 8.6
—119
o
7.5
9.7
*J
11.0
123
116
10.6
10.8
15.1
134
123
13,3
Mean, ....
range .250
.063
586
56.9
range 33.3
113
In the column (c) of mean diurnal barometric oscillation, the ob-
servations at Subathu have been included, as producing a better average ;
the difference of altitude will in this case have but a trifling influence
on the result.
Appended to Captain P. Gerard's tables are catalogues of the lati-
tude, longitude, and barometrical altitude of all the most important
points visited in the course of the journeys, whose occurrence is mark-
ed by the blanks in the foregoing register. The journey of Septem-
ber, 1819, was made in company with the late Captain J. D. Herbert,
to survey the course and level of the river Satlej, of which an interesting
account is published in the fifteenth volume of the Asiatic Researches.
The heights were partly taken trigonometrically, but the majority by the
boiling-point method, and a correction of two degrees and upwards was
forced to be applied to the instrument used by Captain Herbert, on
account of an error deduced experimentally from a comparison of its
boiling point with the height of a barometer filled with pure mercury,
and well boiled, by Captain Gerard ; Dalton's Table of Tensions
were used in calculating the volume of the thermometric indications.
The latter officer, in his remarks upon the tables before us, explains
that his own thermometrical heights were taken with a differ-
ent instrument, which did not require correction, and that they
were calculated by his brother, Captain A. Gerard, on the supposi-
tion of the sea level being represented by 30 inches, or 212°. A de-
duction of 200 feet may in some cases be necessary on this account,
but it will hardly affect the relative measurements, especially as the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
kept at Kotgarh, Subathu, S(C.
621
trips were made in April, September, and October, the months, as be-
fore stated, of mean barometrical altitude.
The following table contains a selection of some of the principal re-
sults of this part of the journal, and if compared with that printed in the
Researches, it will be seen to afford the highest confirmation to Captain
Herbert's statement ; the altitudes and longitudes are from the latter.
In 18*20, our author went alone by another route, and made some ad-
ditions to his list of altitudes. The whole ought to be published, but they
would require the elucidation of a route-map and notes of the journey.
On both occasions also, the temperature of rivers and springs was
carefully noted, and a sure indication was thence deduced of the distance,
direction, and source of the stream ; a few of these are inserted below :
Extract from Captain Gerard's Table of Altitudes,
1819. Plack.
Rfimpur, capital,
Nirtnagar, village,
Kotgarh, cantonment,
Komharsen, capital,
Subatbu, encampment,
Maolig, encampment,
Semla, do.
Wartu fort,
Pabar, river near Raingarh,
Rootan, village,
Encampment in Klashel range,
Jako Peak,
Crest of Rupen Pass*,
Murang,
Shipke, in Chinese Tartary,
Hupshang, boundary between Busahir&Tibet
Naku, village, Bussahir,
Shealkbar, village and fort, Do.
Kanam village, Kunawar,
Wangto jhula, bridge over the Satlej,
Dalnagar, village, Bussahir,
1820.
Mandar Ghati Pass, boundary, Do.
Siraru Pass, Do.
Purag, Kotgfirtt,
Nagkanda Pass,
Dubalda range, Kuranglu,
Top of Nankhar range, Bussahir,
Buchkal, on ascent to tShatul,
Crest of left peak towards Shatul orjRol Pass,
Cuandfdhar range, .Do.
Kujean, village, J angleg, Bussahir.
Kepu, bridge over Satlej, | British,
State.
Bussahir,
Do.
British,
Komharsen,
British,
Patiala,
Keontliul,
Several,
British,
Do.
Bussahir,
Do.
Do.
Do.
Tibet,
Lati-
tude.
North.
3P~27 ;
31 22
31 19
31 19
30 58
31
31
31
31
31
32
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
Longi-
tude.
East.
77° 38'
77 33
77 30
77 27
76 59
Boil-
ing
Point.
206,8
206,6
200,7
Elevation
above the
Sea
202,7
198,5
194,1
196,1
10 185,7
27197,4
45 193,8)
194,0(
32 78
2377
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
77
V
78
77
191,7
194
197,2
203,3
3398 ft.
3087
6634
5500
4505
4400
7200
10656
5700
8900
12900
9100
15460
8503
10597
10989
12005
10403
9000
5200
3200
9800
8885
6900
9016
7300
7800
11700
13300
9200
9250
2800
• This pass is called the Gunas Pass by Capt. Herbert, (As. Res. zr. 413,) by
mistake — the Gunas is another passage across the Himalaya, lying to the west-
ward of the Rupen River.— P. G.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
622
Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Formation, [D*c.
Temperature of Rivers, Springs, and Torrents observed.
Spi ing between Phapfio and Theog,
Stream on Klnshel Range,
Rupen River, below Pass,
Satlej River, below Shipke',
Do. at Namghea jhuU,
Beru Naddi or Torrent,
Grassu and Badi Torrents,
Chegaonti River,
Pabar River, near Mandli,
Andri near Cbirgaon,
Gopand Chilli Torrents,
Sepon River,
Pabar River, near Raingarb,
Shillar Torrent,
Tons River at conflux with Pabar,
Shalwe River,
Couflux of Shalwe and Kholte Rivera,
1819.
•
8ih May.
7 A.
M.
45,2
24th Sept.
11 A.
M.
45,5
29th
9 A.
M.
40,5
15th Oct.
5 p.
M.
51,3
22nd
9 A.
M.
44,0
1820.
4th Jan.
9 A.
M.
33,1
5 th
8*A.
M.
29,5
9th
8|A.
M.
33,6
23rd Mar.
5 p.
M.
52,7
24 th
7|a.
11.
43,0
30th
9 A.
M.
43,0
30th
10 A.
M.
40,1
7th Apr.
6Ja.
U.
51,8
20th
f> A.
M.
47,0
25th
7 A.
II.
57,0
2nd May.
6 p.
M.
69,9
5th
7 A.
M.
56,0
J. P.
V. — Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Format ion, and on Fossil Bones
collected on the Jamna. By Captain E.JSmith, Bengal Engineers. >
[Read 26th December.] ytf '
Captain E. Smith has been engaged for some years in removing the
obstructions to navigation in the river Jamna, between Allahabad and
Agra. These obstructions, as is well known, consist of sandstone rocks
and kankar banks, protruding from the bed of the river at several points,
leaving, at low water, dangerous bars but partially concealed, and caus-
ing rapids and whirlpools, which have proved in years past highly
destructive to boats. In the course of this important duty, of which
we hope hereafter to be able to give a full account, the peculiarities of
the kankar formation, which has been the subject of so much specula-
tion to Indian geologists, have been strongly impressed on his obser-
vation, and he has very laudably preserved sketches and remarks of their
most remarkable appearances in his note-book, which he has now sub-
mitted with the series of specimens to the Society. " They are not
numerous" — he writes, " having been taken only where differences in
the kankar and rock were evident, but they form a regular series from
Agra to Allahabad, shewing the nature of the rocks occurring throughout
that distance. Having little knowledge of the subject myself, I have
not attempted descriptions of the specimens, which will be more cor-
rectly recognized by others, but have substituted what may be of use,
viz. sketches and notes of the exact situations whence the specimens
have been obtained. These even amount to little more than indica-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] and on Fossil Bones collected on the Jamna. 623
tions of place, for almost the remarks that have offered themselves
have been reserved until I know whether they will be of ser-
vice."
All geologists will agree that the graphic mode of illustration
adopted by Captain Smith is the very best for communicating at once
an acquaintance with the nature of the country he has explored, and
though confined to the banks and bed of a river, it must be remembered,
that the section thus opened to him by the operations of nature, to a
depth in some places of 1 00 feet or more, is a section of the great allu-
vium of the Doab and of the Agra plains, and not, as it would be in the
lower course of the Ganges, a mere exhibition of the continually
shifting channel and sands of the comparatively recent delta. —
This remark extends particularly to the fossil bones discovered at
Karimkhdn and other places, which will be seen, as we proceed, to
belong to the genuine class of fossils, underlying the kankar stratum of
the clayey alluvium, and are not merely casual deposits in the present
river, as Captain Herbert was led to suspect when their existence was
first pointed out, in a situation of the same nature, near Calpf, by Doctor
Duncan, in 1828*.
Dr. Roylb also brought away a fragment of bone in 1831, and
expressed his opinion that fossils would be found in the banks of the
Jamna, (Journal, vol. i. 457.)
Regarding the present collection of fossil bones, Captain E. Smith's
private letter furnishes the following particulars : " With the specimens
of rock there is a box of fossils ; I have done little more than indicate the
localities, with a few remarks on the state of the bones, originating in
* See Gleanings in Science, i. 23.— Account offouil elephant bones found in the
river near Calpi. As no further notice was taken, at the time, of Dr. Duncan's dis-
covery, I take thia opportunity of publishing the extract from Mr. J. Leslie's letter
which brought the subject to the notice of the Physical Class of the Asiatic Society.
" I had the pleasure of sending you on the 6th, two portions of the fossil bones
of an elephant, for which I am indebted to my friend Dr. Duncan at Calpi; the
following is an extract from his letter which accompanied them : ' The spot on
which these remains were found is nearly three miles up the river on the opposite
side to Calpi ; at the time of visiting them there was not a long bone whole ; proba-
bly a tooth might have been procured, but certainly not now, the remains being
scattered by the natives who accompanied us, in all directions. I however send you
what I preserved, part of a long bone (the femur) and a portion of a tusk, the la-
mellated structure of which is very distinct. The remains layabout 40 yards from
the edge of the water, then very low, but which during the rains must evidently over-
flow the spot to an equal or greater extent. They appeared but superficially im-
bedded in the slightly coherent earthy stratum, which has been deposited by the
waters on a bottom of kankar, of which the bed and banks of the river were here
composed.' "
Digiti
zed by G00gle
624 Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Formation, [Dec.
my acquaintance with the situations in which they are found. The
portion of the subjoined note in which the fossils are assigned to differ-
ent parts of the skeletons of various animals, has been derived from
better authority than I can pretend to in such questions. From what
has been obtained in the last year or two, it seems that fossils in great
abundance are lodged in the bed of the river. They have in previous
years of the works been procured in smaller quantities, from rocks or
shoals differing in nature from those of the last season, having been
removed in the first periods. One cause of so many having been of late
discovered has been the presence of intelligent European overseers,
whose curiosity has been excited by remains which were matter of in-
difference to the natives. It is to be regretted, however, that the atten-
tion of the men was not directed earlier to the preservation of these
fossils.
" I became acquainted with their discovery in such quantities, and of
such dimensions, only after an absence from the spot, during which
the excavation had been completed, and could then collect merely a
few of the fragments, which an interest in the subject on the part of
some of the sergeants had induced them to select. Much however has
been lost, and as seen in the list, a small piece only was kept of the
shoulder blade of an elephant, (No. 3,) described as very perfect, but
which unfortunately, with the rest of the mass removed from the shoal,
was thrown into the water of a deep channel. I have lately got some
more fossils, and in the course of the cold season, I shall have an oppor-
tunity of visiting some, of the existence of which in the banks of the
river I have just had information, and which (if the account I have
received be correct) would seem to prove that the process of petrifaction
is still active."
Captain Smith has divided his notices under three heads, which we
here insert in the same order, adding the characters of the rocks, and in
some places their analysis, from the specimens presented to the Society.
I. — Notes with Explanatory Sketches on a Description of Kankar found
in Slabs in part of the bank of the Jamna. (Plate XXIII.)
A description of flag, composed of sand coarsely but strongly ce-
mented, in thin slabs, horizontally disposed, is found in considerable
quantities at a short distance from Karfmkhan, near Oreyah, on the
Jamna. The situations from which it is usually dug are shown dis-
tinctly in the accompanying sketches, with the references and notes;
but the flag is not confined to the banks of the river, (Sketches 1st and
5th,) being raised as well from sand-banks far out towards the centre
of the bed of the stratum.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Jiur. OJ Joe
K&n.FLTim.
fketckl
KanAar it^U \>j~ th* <J*4*?vn4iu Rj,\>er
SkUOi/Z
Ses&ticn^
Skttohf
^V*-
Shads^
Method tf extras/i/ty tJu 7Ca*i&ar
ruar (At/ c&Ur< of t fat' riv*n
£tfi£.SmM/.^ry. **
Digitized by
oogfe
T*J+is*' £*&*
Digitized by
Google
1 833 .] nnd on the Fossil Bones collected on the Jamna. 625
It is excavated principally by tbe boat and ghat men, or the villa-
gers of tbe Mallah class, on the immediate spot ; and the search for it,
and the mode of raising it, is simple.
In the hot months, when the river is low, these men observe what
parts of the bank have been left by the river (Sketch 1 st) so bare of
sand, or deposits of mud, as to allow of a probability of the flags being
reached without much labour in the removal of the superincumbent
body. They are, from the excavations in former years, acquainted with
the spots in which they may expect to find the flags, and the upper
mass being cleared away, if the flags are reached, the excavation is
carried on as long as the easy slope of the bank allows of its being pro-
fitable. It is generally from about the bottom of the bank, at the le-
vel of the lowest fall of the river in the dry months, that the flags are
taken, and they are traced at all heights from this level up to 20 or 25
feet above it, but rarely or never higher. Below this lowest level, they
are found in depths as great as the water has allowed of the excava-
tion being prosecuted in, but that is not more than 4 or 5 feet. To-
wards the centre of the river they are raised from similar depths be-
low the surface (Sketch 4th) from a space on which sand settles annu-
ally over a greater or less extent. Whenever any part is perceived
free of sand, and the flags felt at the bottom of the water clear of that
obstruction, they are detached by common iron implements, and raised.
As is the case near the shore, the depths from which they are
lifted do not exceed 4 or 5 feet. In raising the flags, it is usual to cut
them across, (Sketch 2nd, > to reduce them to manageable dimensions,
and as they are sometimes connected with each other at the edges, they
are there too cut asunder. They are generally taken out in lengths of
from 2 to 4 feet, the breadth varying from 1 to 2 feet.
Long round pieces are sometimes found between the flat slabs,
(Sketch 3,) that is of course when the latter are not so close as to be
connected. These round pieces are always smooth, never knotted, at
least as those common on the surface of the kankar banks and shoals
usually are. The round are always met within the horizontal line be-
tween the flat pieces, never above or below them, not even when there are
double or treble strata of slabs. The directions of the lateral divi-
sions of the slabs, as also of the grooves which channel the surfaces of
both the flat and round pieces, is stated to correspond nearly with that
of the present course of the river. These flags are said to harden on
exposure to the air. It is unusual to find, in other parts of the bank,
fine sand, similar to that of the sand strata immediately adjoining the
3 M
Digiti
zed by G00gle
626 Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Formation, [Due.
flags, and to that of flags themselves*. It seems to be of a kind pe-
culiar to this bank of the river, about the lowest level. Cursory ob-
servation at least does not discover it elsewhere. It is darker and greyer,
but otherwise not unlike the fine sand of the superficial beds. Flags, it
is asserted by the people, are never found on the sites of former excava-
tions, that is, they believe them to be old deposits, and have no expec-
tation of discovering fresh formations in the spots from which they have
once before raised the layers. Projecting eaves from the roofs and win-
dows of the native pakka houses are in this neighbourhood very general-
ly constructed with these flags. It seems to be the use to which exclu-
sively they are applied, and they are conveyed for it to Calpi and other
towns in the vicinity, where they are sold at a few rupees a hundred.
Similar flags to these may very possibly exist on other parts of the
bank of the river, but they have never been observed or heard of ex-
cept at this place, and here but in one bank of about half mile in length,
and in the bed of the river opposite to it. Although, as shewn in Sketch
5, this is now the main bank of the river, it has not always been so*
At some very remote period, the Jamna must have ran along the foot
of the higher plain on which Kentra stands, and which line, with the
relative distances and elevations, is seen on the small sketch.
Reference* to the Sketches.
Sketch 1. a. Sand in strata, alternating in thicknesses of the flags.
b. Lowest level of the river.
k. Cess-pool for baling out the water.
c. First stratum of flags.
d. Intervening layer of sand, fine, of the same color and description apparently at
that in the composition of the flags, varying in thickness from 6 in. to 1 feet.
e. Second stratum of flags.
f. Second intervening layer of sand.
g. Third stratum of flags.
From 1 to 5, strata of flags and intervening sand are found.
Sketch 2. The slabs in their natural position, in the sand or the river. Cats
made by the people to detach them.
Sketch 3. Plan and section shewing the round pieces of kankar («) found lying
between the flat slabs (b b).
Sketch 4. The method of obtaining the kankar from the sand-beds towards tat
centre of the river.
A. One of the men separating the pieces by a sharpened crow-bar.
B. Another lifting up the detached pieces from the bottom.
* The composition of the flag kankar analysed by me was as follows :
Carbonate of lime, 42.2
Fine sand, 57.8
100 En.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
*■ Ov.Soc
&HrK.xxnc
{tht nu*nj*t\t r*/trte&u Specimen*)
'"^^^ 3*> J^elofM^Ur
Jy-s
Top <f Stra/Um,A
3 €Jt
Z44*l pf-uta&r
JLfiCk Kcnjuir * ... ^ m
V
^.yjr
C&y <nuCKankar
/y.^r
- <y>. KSmU&.Znf. dO,
Digitized by LiOOQ IC
1833.] and on the Fossil Bones collected on the Jamnm. 627
Sketch 5. Plan of the locality.
a. Present bank of the river, 40 to 60 feet above the lowest level of the dry
season.
b. former bank, 100 to 140 feet above ditto.
c. Bank, in, or near which the slabs are found.
2. — Notes on Specimens of Kankar and Rock taken from the Bed of the
Jamna, between Agra and Allahabad. (Plate XXIV J
Fig. 6 — represents a section of the river bank at Sinjaity, above
Etawa, with the kankar jutting under water.
No. 1. Loose kankar gravel, cemented with clay and lime.
2. Ditto, with kankar cement : micaceous sand.
3. Botryoidal kankar.
4. Resembles 2, but more solid.
Fig. 7. — Kaldysar, at the junction of the Sinde, 20th April.
No. 5. Hard sandy kankar.
6. Stalactitic kankar, rich in lime.
Fig. 8 — is a plan of the surface of stratum A in the last sketch,
-which much resembles the filling up of the natural cracks/ formed on
the drying of a clayey soil, with a carbonaceous and sandy infiltration.
Fig. 9 — shews the general elevation of the specimens from Ka-
ldysar. The main bank immediately above rises to the height of about
70 feet, and at a furlong further back, to a total height of 130 feet ;
above the kankar the bank is of fine clay.
No. 7. A concretion of rolled fragments of kankar.
Fig. 10 — is a section taken at Kanjosa, at the junction of the
Sinde. Here the nodular kankar lies in inclined strata in a hard clay,
upon the horizontal surface 6f which rests a fiat plate of kankar, (simi-
lar to that extracted from the bed of the Jamna ?)
Fig. 11. — Himatpur, 20th April. A mass of nodules in close
contact, but disposed in strata nearly horizontal; some at 12 feet above
the level of the water, some at less. The kankar which has acted as
a cement to the mass is seen in veins.
No. 8. Hard ramified kankar.
9. Smaller, of various forms.
At Burldt, below the junction of the Chambal, 20th April.
No. 10. White kankar in sandy clay ; of this there are extensive shoals,
which offered obstructions to the navigation.
No. 1 1 . Rock kankar, a granular concrete, with marks of shells ? Stra-
tum, two feet thick, sixty feet above the lowest level of the river : total height of
the precipitous bank about 100 feet.
Fig. 12.— At Nant, between Calpi and Hamirpur, the measure-
ment and nature of the strata are shewn in the sketch.
No. 12. Is a firm clay.
13. A sandy marl, effervesces with acids.
3 m 2
Digitized by
Google
628 Notes on the Specimen of the Kankar Formation, [Dec.
14. Rock kankar, a calcareous sandstone, containing angular frag-
ments of silex v felspar, and yellow clay. A few strata, about one foot thick each,
with strata of the usual description between, form together masses of 12 feet thick
rising to 17 feet above the surface of the water.
Fig. 13. — Section of the clay bank above Hamirpur and below
Secrori Ghat. The kankar (15) here appears in vertical seams in the
scarped front of the bank, which is itself of a firm clay.
No. 16. Sandy clay, with perforations — and an imbedded unto shell,
open.
17. Ramified kankar from the bank at the level of the water, Ha-
mirpur.
Fig. 14. — Section of part of the bank at Arroel, below Hamirpur.
No. 18. Kankar conglomerate (large rolled fragments, reunited with
kankar cement).
19. Plate kankar, of botryoidal form — micaceous sand adhering:
from Takouri near Chiladdra Ghdt, it appears combined in large rocks and reefs.
Note. — To this part of the Jamna the clay and kankar formation
prevails. Below, fresh descriptions of rock supersede the kankar,
except in the specimens distinguished as such.
20. Red vitrified clay, or k hangar, of variegated color, from
Marka. The mass is about 200 feet in dimensions, rising 20 feet above the level
of the water.
21. Ditto, partially heated, found in detached lumps near the Baee
of ditto.
Figs. 15,16,17. — At Agrye, 1st May, above Mhow. Veins of
kankar (No. 22, clayey kankar), here run in veins through red clay,
containing nodules of kankar : from the unequal wear of such materials
by atmospheric influence, the veins are sometimes seen to protrude
like dykes above the clay, as represented in Fig, 15, to the height of
half a foot or more : the superficial appearance is reticulated, as shewn
in Fig. 17.
No. 23. Plate kankar from Kankota: — of this kind extensive beds
and reefs occur, it is much the same as that at Pachkouri.
The other specimens forwarded with the kankar series, are as fol-
lows :
No. 24. A calcedonic conglomerate of fused lithomarge, forming
the substance of a rocky island above the Taboda hill , taken from the mass 25 to
40 feet above the water-level.
Specimens from Mhow, 40 miles above Allahabad.
No. 25. Sandstone from the rock about the centre of the river, at
six feet above the level of the water.
26. Lithomarge, in masses, 10 feet above the water.
27. Sandstone flag, from the Bundelkhand bank of the river.
28. Red clay and gravel (ferruginous kankar), mnning in veins 30
to 40 feet in length, 3 or 4 inches thick, taken from the same spot as No. 27.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] and on the Fossil Bones collected on the Jamna. 6*29
29. Friable white sandstone, from about tbe centre of the river,
near the lower part of the pass, forming large reefs and masses, 3 or 4 feet above
the water-lerel.
30. Sandstone, fine grained, from a large mass about the centre of
the river, in the higher part of the pass, taken from 3 or 4 feet above the level of
the water.
Specimens from the great reef at Bamidrl.
31. Hard sandstone, 6 to 10 feet above the level.
32. Kankar, in very small quantities, found near the above.
Unless specified otherwise, it should be understood, that by the
•* level of the water," in the preceding notes, is meant every where
the lowest annual level of the river.
Small springs, flowing in free through scanty streams, run from un-
der many of the ledges of kankar on the banks of the river. They
are rarely met with except in these situations, and in the possibility of
their being still impregnated with the calcareous matter which seems
to have been the principal agent in the formation of the kankar, some
of the water has been brought off in bottles, — a rude attempt made
here to discover the presence of lime was not successful in detecting
it*.
3. — List of Fossil bones found in various situations in the prosecution
of the Jumna works at Karimkhdn, 1833.
The numbers refer to the specimens presented to the Society, and
to the figures in plate XXV.
1. A tooth supposed to have belonged to an elephant, 14 or 15
years old.
2. The bony or inner part of an elephant's tusk.
3. The extreme point of an elephant's shoulder-blade; the remain*
ing part of the bone weighed about 1 £ maunds.
4. A portion of an elephant's shin-bone. #
5. Portions of the back-bone of a camel, (?) or one of the vertebrae
of the lower part of the neck.
6. Knuckle bone of the knee-joint of ditto.
7. That part of the shin-bone nearest the fetlock joint of ditto, or
end of the shank-bone next the knee.
8. Portion of a rib of ditto.
+ Both of these waters were found to be nearly pure, their specific gravity
being sensibly the same as that of distilled water. On applying the proper tests, the
only salt discovered in the water from Nani was carbonate of lime ; that from
Arrocl contained the same, with a very slight admixture of muriate of soda. The
slight solution of carbonate of lime may have been rather derived from the kankar,
than have aided in producing it.— Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
630 Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Formation, [Dbc.
9. Portions of human bones, (?) the two black ones being the head
of the thigh-bone and head of the arm-bone.
10. Two pieces supposed to have been parts of alligators.
1 1 . Portions of bones belonging to the skeletons of horses, buffa-
loes, &c.
12. The upper part of the leg-bone nearest the shoulder of a young
elephant, or the lower part of the thigh-bone of the same animal.
1 and 2 were taken out of a mixture of sand and kankar, partially
exposed to the atmosphere.
3. 4, 8, 9. 10 and 11, were all procured on sloping the banks of a
channel, the sides of which are from 1 to 5 feet above the lowest level
of the river (the bank being 50 feet high.) They were dug from depths
of from 6 to 18 inches in the firm shoal, which is composed of sub-
stances, kankar stone, gravel, rounded bricks (vitrified clay ?) more
or less rolled and cemented by mud and clay.
5. Were dug out of a cleft in hard yellow clay about 9 inches deep,
filled with black mud, about 3 feet from the surface of the water.
6. Were found in the bed of the river about 18 inches deep, and 4
feet from the surface of the water, during the excavation of a bund.
12 — was found on the left shore of the Jamna, at Chonra, above G*/-
pi, partially imbedded in a clay and kanker bank : all the rest were dug
up at Karimkhdn.
Of the fossil bones those found in the shoals of kankar were die
least perfect, the petrifaction being less complete, or the fossil in in-
ferior preservation. In the stiff clay, which composes a considerable
portion of the bed of the river here, the fossils were in better order.
This difference may be accounted for on various suppositions. The
fossils, after being washed from the spots where they became such,
might have been better preserved in the stiff clay than in the loose
shoals ; or the change into the fossil state may have taken place in
the immediate neighbourhood of the clay, and those found in the loose
shoals have been carried by the water from the original place of for-
mation, having suffered injury in their progress from their first to the
new situation in which they are found.
It is difficult to assign to these remains the dates of their passing in-
to the fossil state. The greater number have been found in an exten-
sive shoal, of partially rolled kankar, cemented by mud, and which from
known changes in the river might be of very recent accumulation. A
large proportion of the fossils seem to have had a former situation in
the hard clay of the bed of the river, however carried thence to the
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] and on the Fossil Bones collected on the Jamna. 631
kankar shoal. Bat whether they become fossils in the clay, or whether,
after becoming so in other spots, they were swept on, till lodged in the
clefts of the clay, still remains a point to be ascertained.
There is a probability in the former supposition, from the fossils
found in clay being coloured throughout with its yellow tinge, whilst
those dug up from gravel or kankar are of the greyish hue of these
latter substances. If then the fossils are of the dates of the masses in
which they were discovered, their age must be considerable, for the
clay spoken of lies at great depth in the plain of ' the Doab, and must
be a very early deposit.
In regard to fossils — will substances, after having completed their
change to that state in some other spot, acquire throughout their in-
ternal structure the color of clays, in the clefts of which, after travel-
ling from a distance, they may have found a fresh resting place ? If
they will, the difference of color in the fossils leads to no evident con-
clusion on the preceding surmises. One curious particular seems
established after repeated inquiries. The fossils marked 5 were taken
out of clefts in clay which lay below a thick stratum of rock kankar.
Still it is far from certain that the rock kankar was so entire, so free
from fissures, as to permit of no other explanation than that of the
fossils having been deposited or changed in the clay, before the forma-
tion of the kankar which rested in it. That clay is itself of great age,
it is at the bottom of the river, 40 feet from the extreme height of the
rise of the river in the rains, and from 100 to 150 below the plain of
the Doab and Bundelkhand"
To these guarded remarks of Captain E. Smith, every attention is
due, and he deserves our best thanks for so impartially laying the
circumstances of the Jamna fossils before us. It would seem to be
pretty well established from his local observations, that many if
not all of the fossils were first deposited in the clay stratum from
100 to 150 feet below the plain of the Doab, and under the general
line of the kankar formation ; that upon the excavation of the present
bed of the Jamna, many have been washed out of their original seats
and removed to clefts in the ledges of rock in the bed of the river, and
have been there mixed up with a fresher muddy deposit, and in some
cases impregnated with a tint therefrom. That they belong to the
former period, and that the kankar attached to them is also much more
ancient than the present sands of the river, is rendered sufficiently evi-
dent in some of the specimens by the large angular quartz and felspar
gravel, cemented on to many of the bones* Some angular pebbles of
Digiti
zed by G00gle
632 Notes on the Specimens of the Kankar Formation, [Dae.
quartz are here and there perceived also in the concretions of rolled
kankar ; and it is a curious fact, that the size and description of the
granitic gravel adhering to the bones, exactly resemble the characters
of those attached to the Jabotput fossils.
With regard to the human bones (No. 9), much doubt may fairly
be entertained, on account both of the imperfect preservattou of the
fragments and the rarity of their occurrence in a fossil state : indeed,
it is well known to be a much contested point whether ' the bones of
man, or those of the monkey tribe, have ever been so discovered ; al-
though the careful examination of the human remains lately found in
the caves of the south of France seem to have set the point at rest with
most of the French geologists.
* As the Annales de Chimie*, in which M. Tournal sets forth his
opinions, is rarely to be met with in India, and as the animal remains in-
humed in the mud and gravel of caves may prove hereafter to be contem-
poraneous, geologically speaking, with our newly-discovered deposits
under the clays of the Doab, we shall make no apology for concluding
our present notice with a brief sketch of M. Tournal's view on this
interesting subject.
•- 1 i '. . Occurrence of the Bones of Man in the Fossil State.
-The phenomena of caves is much more complicated than Was at first
supposed, when the simple theory of a diluvial wave washing into them
the debris of animals on the instant of their sudden destruction was
proposed as sufficient to account for the quantity of bones found im-
bedded in the mud, gravel, and stalagmite of these truly valuable geo-
logical depositories.
Of the vast number of caves lately brought to light on the continent
of Europe, some have been found to contain no fossils ; others*- merely
gravel and mud ; — some, ancient bones and coprolite ; and others only
a prodigious quantity of the recent dung of bats and birds of prey.
No general law pertains to them. They occur at all heights ; — in cal-
careous rocks of every different age, and at various elevations above
the present contiguous valleys. Such as are found in inaccessible si-
tuations, and at a distance trdm running water, are generally empty ;
those of which the apertures have been but recently disclosed by gra-
dual wear of the rock in front, contain only modern deposits ; the na-
ture of the organic remains varying according to the locality and the
antiquity of the aperture. In some cases we meet exclusively with the
bones of a species of large bear (Mrs**>spekeusJ, the skeletons of which
are still in connection, and appear to have been gradually imbed-
* Annales de Chimie, Fevrier, 1833.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Jour. As Soj
VclEFllZr
Fofsil> borus/hom Che bed of the Jumnas lUsivr,
collected by Ca/izTESniti/is.Eng
J\f?4.
//".? f.H 14 A/5 from- LieuC BurCs GotUctocnr.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
Digitized by
Google
1888.] Note on Fossil Human Bones. 683
ded and thus perfectly preserved. In others, like Kirkdale, the mass
consists of a multitude of bones, half gnawed and rounded, among
which is remarked a quantity of hyaenas' dung (coprolite) j in
others a narrow crevice is filled with skeletons of the smaller car-
nivorous animals and birds. The formation in all these cases is
natural and evident : the habits of bears and hyaenas of the pre-
sent day accord exactly with what we see to have been their practice in
ages past : the caves were the residence of these animals for genera-
tions, and were by no means filled by any brisk transient or universal
wave of transport : and there is no ground deducible from them for the
separation of organic remains into the two classes of ante and post"
diluvian.
The soil of these caverns generally has a strictly local origin, and
may be identified with the debris of the neighbouring mountains. In
most cases it can be proved to have been gradually introduced from
some opening above, and not from apertures fronting the present val-
leys, which have in most cases been laid bare by the subsequent denu-
dation of the channel of the present rivers, when the level of the ocean
subsided : the strata of soil can be divided into the finest laminae, and
very often thick strata of stalagmite separate one bed of soil, and its
contents, from the next.
Having proved that the fossil caves vary in their contents from local
circumstances, and that they have been filled in very long periods, M.
Tournal comes to the important question, whether the cave deposit
ever contains human bones, or pottery and works of human art ; and, if
so, whether these objects appear to be coeval with the other matter of
the caves ; in fact, whether man was or was not contemporaneous with
animals now considered to be extinct, and, as it were, belonging to a
former creation.
Human remains had been long since observed both in what was
called diluvial clay, and in the soil of caves ; but their presence was
deemed accidental, and it became a dogma of the science that man
existed not in a fossil state. The recent discovery however of the caverns
of Aude, Herault, and Gard exposed a vast magazine of human bones
and antique pottery inclosed in the self -same matrix with the hyaena, lion,
tiger, stag, and numerous other animals, all of extinct species. Atten-
tion was thus once more awakened to the subject, and MM. De Skrrbs,
Christol, and Tournal, after an attentive and conscientious examina-
tion, have come to the conclusion that all these objects, are of the
same date ; whence it results that man was the companion of animals
now considered extinct and fossil. The grounds of their opinion are ;—
3 N
Digiti
zed by G00gle
634 Note on the Fossil Human Bones, [Dec.
the equal change which the bones hare undergone : their mode of
deposit : the variety of species in some of the animals, which denotes
domesticity; and the occurrence of extinct species bearing the marks
of cutting instruments. The problem being thus resolved, it follows
that man must also be included among the fossil species, or rather that
the sudden transition from one condition of being to another must be
disallowed, and that the same gradual alteration of species, already so
fully developed by M. Desha yes in his comparison of the fossil shells
of the different periods of the tertiary formations, must be extended to
animals, and perchance to man himself : that, in fact, the barrier of fossil
and non- fossil must henceforth be a distinction of convenience only, to
separate such remains as may be found buried in the regular geological
strata, from those of more modern or accidental inhumation.
M. Desnotbrs however suggests that these bones may be compara-
tively modern, and that they may belong to the primitive Gauls, who
lived in caverns. This opinion accords well enough with the circumstances
of the cavern at Miallet, in which M. Teissier found little figures,
fragments of jars, bracelets, &c. but it will not at all apply to the other
localities described, and in which the mixture of bones is so decided.
Great light is thrown by these discoveries on the before ill-explain-
ed fact of the occurrence of human bones in the breccias of Cagliari,
Nice, Gibraltar, and Tripoli, which contain marine shells, and seem to
prove that the level of the sea was once 150 feet higher than at present :
the caves generally betoken an equal height of the running streams
which are supposed to have gradually silted up the caverns.
The shell deposit of Cape St. Hospice, near Nice, also contains bro-
ken pottery, and the same has been observed in the bone-breccias of
Dalmatia and Syria, which contain human bones, a3 does the ossiferous
sand of Bades near Vienna.
M. Boub' rightly observes that such facts are of too frequent occur-
rence to allow of explanation on the ground of any accidental intro-
duction during the period to which history extends. They all testify
a lowering of the ocean level with respect to the land, caused by the
upheavement of the latter, and thus render it evident, that these changes
have been in action subsequent to the existence of man on the globe.
MV Tournal and other French naturalists, further suppose that
' several races of men have successively had possession of our continents.
'The form of the skulls found at Vienna is stated to approach to the
African or Negro type. Those discovered in the fiuviatile marl of the
Valley of the Rhine and Danube exhibit a close resemblance to the heads
of the Karaibs or those of the ancient inhabitants of Peru and Chili . It
Digitized by
Google
1 833 .] found in the south of France. 634
is of course in vain to seek in the most ancient histories of these coun-
tries for any tradition of the violent commotions which the crust of
the earth has endured (as is now proved), since man became its tenant.
Geology alone can seek to unravel the general facts in an uncertain thread of
events, through the gradual development of the records carefully treasured
in caves and strata, and written in actual symbols of life of less equivocal
interpretation than Egyptian hieroglyphics. But the subject is yet new,
the facts limited, and we must be cautioned against coming to any con-^
elusions without the most mature and impartial examination. It is to
this philosophic caution perhaps that we must attribute the silence of
Mr. Contbbarb on so interesting atopic, in his report on geology to the
British Association in 1832. Afteralluding to Professor Bucklano'*
acute observations on the numerous bone caverns of England and Ger-
many. " which have thrown so much light on the particulars of the his-
tory of so many long-extinct races of animals, and proved beyond a
doubt that they were originally the inhabitants of the districts where
their remains are now found;" he briefly adds, -but still on many
questions connected with this curious and interesting subject, especially
the relative age of the human bones occasionally found in the same
cavern (as at Bize in the South of Prance), we are bound to compare the
opposite views of Db Sbrbbs. Christoi,, and Tournal, with those of
Buckland, with whom however Dbsnoybrb appears entirely to agree."
The last edition of Dbla Brchb's manual also barely alludes to the
fact of human bones having been lately found in the same mass
with the remains of the extinct rhinoceros and other animals usually
discovered in caverns.
We have dwelt at some length on this novel subject, in hopes of draw-
ing the attention of our Indian geologists more zealously to prosecute
their investigation of the new field of organic remains now opened td
their labours in the clay of the Dodb and the banks of the Jamna. Should
it be proved that the bones of man are there really imbedded, and that
the animals found with him are (like the elephant of Jabalpur) of the
existing Asiatic species, it will form a strong and very important link
of connection between the state of things at two distant epochs of our
globe, now distinguished as the recent and the fossil periods.
In digging wells in the Dodb, or in any part of the upper Gangetie
main the search for fossil bones at considerable depths should not be
neglected, even under the strata of kankar. which occur almost every
where in the yellow clay. We might not despair even of finding bones
at the lowermost depth to which we have bored in CalcutU. tor the
yellow clay under the blue alluvial beds contains kankar.and.is of the
same apparent age as that of the Dodb. •>• P-
Digiti
zed by G00gle
636 Further particulars of the Earthquake in Nepal. [Die.
VI, — Further particulars of the Earthquake in Nepal. By A. Campbell,
Esq. Assistant Surgeon attached to the Residency. ~~~ y£C*
In pursuance of the attempt made before to note the destructive
effects of the earthquake of the 26th August last, throughout the valley
of Nepal, and its immediate neighbourhood, and with the hope of shew-
ing, as correctly as my information will permit, the probable seat or
central point of the commotion, I beg to offer the following memo*
randa of other places at which the shock was experienced, as well as
its comparative degree of intensity at each.
The means of estimating the violence of this phenomenon are of
course most defective, if not wholly inadequate to the purpose ; but in
absence of better data, the ascertained amount of damage done to the
frail and perishable works of man, may be received as an index of its
intensity at one place, compared with that of another, and in conformity
to this mode, it would appear, that the most extreme violence of the
shock, as far as its occurrence is as yet known, was expended within a
tract of country extending from this side of the great Himalayan range
on the north, to the course of the Ganges on the south, and from the
Arun river (in the Nepal hills) on the east, to the western branches
of the Trisul Ganga on the west, comprising a space of about 200
miles from north to south, and 150 from east to west. In this space,
the valley of Nepal, though not geographically the centre point, is most
assuredly the portion that has suffered the greatest violence of the
calamity ; and, unless the inexplicable producing causes have been
expended in the frequent and severe shocks that have to this day con-
tinued to recur, we may from our experience of the progress of earth-
quakes in other parts of the world, with reason, as we ought with
resignation, look forward to further and more violent exhibitions of
the same terrible nature.
In the notice of the earthquake by the Secretary of the Asi-
atic Society, in his Journal for August, he expressed a belief,
that the greatest intensity of the shock would be found to have occur-
ed beyond the Himalaya, in the direction of Lassa ; and judging by
the direction from which the shock was felt to have proceeded, and its
intensity in the valley of Nepal, such was the probability, though
other has turned out to be the fact, and that upon good authority.
The recent return fromPekin of an Embassy from Nepal, to the court
of the Celestial Emperor, has furnished authentic information on this
subject, which otherwise might have been long wanting ; and the whole
tenor of it shews that the great Himalayan range itself, and the country
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1 833 .] Further particular* of the Earthquake in Nepal. €37
on this side of it, was alone the theatre of the earthquake's presence,
and that it was not even in the slightest degree felt beyond a very
short distance on the Tibetan side of those huge mountains. The
Embassy was at Lassa, on the 26th of August, when and where the
shock was not experienced. At Digarchi, in the following month, it first
received accounts of its occurrence from Nepal ; to the inhabitants of
that place the circumstance was known only from reports brought from
this side of the mountains ; along the road from Digarchi, the answer to
all inquiries was the same, " No earthquake on the 26th of August,"
and not until its arrival at Tingri was it found that the shock had
been felt. Tingri is a small Chinese poBt, immediately beyond the
great Himalaya, and the first stage on the table land (as it is called)
of Tibet, going from hence to Lassa, (by the KUti or eastern pass
from the valley of Nepal.) From Tingri to K(rung t a distance of
8 or 10 marches, the route is nearly due west, running along ; and
through the northern side of the Himalaya, and throughout this tract,
though but thinly inhabited, authentic reports of the occurrence of the
shock were received. By Ktrung (the eastern pass from the valley
into Bhote), the Mission penetrated the great range, and at each stage
(four in number through the pass), intelligence of the occurrence was
communicated by the few individuals who inhabit that wild and sterile
region. But such information was not required, as its effects were
sufficiently manifest : in the village of Kirung itself, supposed to con-
tain 400 houses, 60 were fairly demolished, and many more seriously
injured : two men had been killed under the ruins of their houses, and
about a dozen wounded. From the exit of the pass to Kathmandd
there are no towns along the route, and scarcely any villages ; but at
many places, insulated houses of the mountaineers had been thrown
down, and the precipitous banks of hills and mountains had been
hurled into the subjacent valleys.
This shews the extent of damage done towards the north, and ena-
bles us to fix upon the line of Tingri (Lat. 28°) as the northern
limit, of the earthquake's presence, and reports would shew that of
Jabalpur and Calcutta to have been the southern one. Rangp&r*
defines the east and Dehii the west.
North-east from KathmandC, as far as Didka and Kuti, the violence
of the shock would seem to have been greater than in the valley. West
from Kathmandu it diminished at every step. At Gorkha, only two
houses were destroyed ; at Palpa, none ; and at Doti, on the borders of
Kemaon, the shock was felt, but not by any means severely. It will
* Mr. Waltibs informs me that it was also felt at Chtttagong.— Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
638
Further particulars of the Earthquake in Nepal
[Dsc.
strike every one as remarkable, that while here, the shock was mors
violent than elsewhere, its effects should not have been felt equally at
as great a distance from hence to the north a*» to the south. Why this ?
is the natural question, but who can answer where all are in darkness.
Other explosive forces spread equally in all directions, this did not;
granting that the centre was where the violence was greatest. To
the south, the country is a level, uninterrupted plain, calculated to faci-
litate the rapid transmission of the agitating force, while to the north
are the mightiest mountains of the world ; it may therefore be supposed.
that the quantity of force expended in reaching to the summits of the
Himalayan peaks, and in shaking like molehills the whole of the
mountain region around, could not be far short in intensity of that
required to agitate slightly the plains to the southward, even to the
distance above recorded. In this light, it may be imagined, that the
explosive force may have spread itself equally on all sides, the greater
surface distance to which it reached towards the south being balanced
by the immense vertical spaces it traversed in shaking from their bases
to their summits the innumerable hills and mountains of the extensive
region lying between the plains of Hindustan and those of Tibet.
I subjoin an accurate register of the shocks which have occurred
up to this date, given me by Captain Robinson. Many of them have
been severe, and throughout the whole course of these visitations,
there have been two distinct varieties observed in the character of the
shocks : all those at the commencement were of undulatory or awing*
ing kind ; the others wanted this 8 well, and were a violent up and
down shaking, with little lateral, motion. The first may be called the
horizontal, the latter the vertical, variety. The former alone have been
destructive to property, while the latter, from the greater noise by
which they are accompanied, and the more rapid oscillations of the
ground, are perhaps the more terrifying.
Register of Earthquake* experienced at Kathmanda\ /rem 26th August to 26/A
November, 1833, inclusive.
Date.
Time.
Remarks.
August 26th,
27th,
28th,
30th,
31st,
Sept. 1, to ))tb,
October 4th,
One at 5h. 55m. p. m. another at
10b. 50m. p. m. 10-58 p. m. was the
timethe great one commenced, and
its duration was three minutes.
4-53 a. m. 5-20 a. m. 5-26 a.m.
7-15 a.m. 4-55 p.m.
4 shocks, one at 9 a. m.
2 during the night,
10 shocks,
7-30 a. m. a smart one, 1 minute's
duration.
AU of the undulating kind, as
well as nine others that occurred
during the same night.
Also unduUtory.
Also undulatory.
Slight.
Slight.
This was a severe one, and of
the vertical kind; it was felt at
Gorakhpdr and Allahabad.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Note on the Fossil Palms and Shells of S&gar.
639
Date.
October 18th,
26th
Norember 8th
16th,
26th,
Tims.
1-55, p. m. severe, and ushered in
with a loud noise.
10-37, a. m. slight.
t-35 a. m. slight.
At midnight, slight.
11-45 p. m. severe.
Id all, 39 shocks hare been not-
ed : many slight ones have occur-
red besides.
Remark*.
Same character as last one ; was
felt slirhtly at Allahabad, lasted
here at least a minute.
This was of the up and down
kind, lasted a minute, and occur-
ring at the full moon, when the
whole people of Nepal were pray-
ing at Pasputnath, excited a great
commotion, and was the only in*
stance where the prophecies of the
Brahmins were realized, although
a hundred lucky moments had for
the last three months been deter-
mined on for the occurrence of
violent shocks.
VII. — Note on the Fossil Palms and Shells lately discovered on the Table-
land of Sdgar, in Central India. ByH.H. .Spry, Esq. Bengal Medical
Service.
W>
[Read at the Meeting of the 26th December.]
Some months since, when I forwarded a specimen of the silicified palm
trees, I stated that the trap hills about Sdgar, which are at an eleva-
tion of upwards of 2000 feet above the sea, formed an amphitheatre,
not however in one continuous circle, but with here and there a break.
Within this circle of trap hills, I ought to have stated that a second jutted
but of compact red sandstone, but of a less elevated extent, being por-
tions of the great Vindya range.
I took occasion to advert to the former of these two formations,
because it was at the foot of the portion that ranges along the Jabal-
ptir road : the limestone bed (travertine and crystallized calcareous
spar) projects ; on which, mixed with the trap debris, the silicified fossil
trees are found. I lay stress on the word silicified, for it seems singular
that silex should be the fossilizing mineral of remains found on a calca-
reous bed. It would seem to indicate that the bed these remains now
repose on could not have been the place of their growth*, but that they
must have been projected from a distance ; and yet the distance could
not have been great, for although the splintered condition of the trunks
would indicate that a powerful force had been applied, the attachment
still of all the tender tendrils, so peculiar to the palmata species, to the
thicker parts of the roots, and which, though perfectly fossilized, may
* The constant occurrence of flints in chalk is sufficient to outweigh this objec-
tion. — Ed.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
6*0 Note on the Fos$il Palha, [D*c.
be easily broken off, clearly shews bow little the abrasion must
have been. That however tneir present site is not their original one.
seems now to be farther confirmed by the discovery of a bed of fossil
shells (univalves reversed), only distant about half a mile, and ap-
parently in a continuation of the same limestoue bed as that on which
these palm-trees lie*. In the one case, however, the calcareous for-
mation forms the surface soil, whereas in the latter it is covered by 17
feet of hard and soft basalt.
The discovery of these shells was made, as discoveries of the kind
usually are, by accident, at the foot of the trap hills beside which the
Jabalpdr road runs ; a well had been dug -some 14 years ago, and with
the stones turned out of it a small hut had been erected. It was in a
lump of the out-turned limestone deposit (travertine), a large shell was
observed, and inquiry discovered the original locale of it to have been
the centre of the well ; the sides of the well had been built up with red
sandstone, and it was necessary to sink a shaft beside it to get at an
accurate knowledge of the site. I caused specimens of the different
strata to be preserved, at the same time noting their depth respectively :
a sample of each stratum, as well as specimens of the fossils. I have had
the pleasure of forwarding for the museum of the Society. I am unable
satisfactorily to determine whether the shells are of marine or terrestrial
origin. The opinion here is that they are marine : a striking peculiarity
in them is that they are all reversed, and some are much more flattened
than others.
The surface soil, (No, 1) as well as Nos. 2, 3 and 4, are well marked,
and the transition from one to the other is as abrupt and sudden as the
specimens furnished. No. 5 is not so well marked. I have called it
wacke. It pervades as a sub-soil a large portion of the trap soil about
Sag or, A coarse analysis which I made of some from a well about a
mile from the fossil well, gave me \
Specific Gravity, 3,600.
f Loss by drying, 34
I Magnesia, « 18
»00p^jA.u»i^-.....".-.- : "
l !
Peroxyde iron, t . .. . 30
Siliceous sand, 100
Loss ^
200
• The annexed topographical sketch (Plate XXVI), which I am enabled to famish
through the kindness of Capt. Macdonalo, of the trigonometrical anrrey, wiU
conrey a better idea of the locale of the two sites than any written descriptaosu
Digiti
zed by G00gle
r<?l//.Pi<.xxw.
Digitized by
Google
1833.]
Meteorological Register at Bareilly, in 1831.
641
When first dug out it is friable and ha3 a very gritty feel, falling
abroad on being thrown into water like lime when it is slaking. In
the sample I have sent I find several minute nodules of carbonate of
lime, which will of course alter the results as given above. No. 7 is a
coarse silicious grit, and No. 8 is basalt again. Beyond which I did not
consider it necessary to extend my search.
I do not venture to offer any hypothesis on the discovery of the
above interesting facts, but content myself by bringing to the notice of
the members of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta the singular circum-
stance of shells in a high state of preservation lodged in a calcareous
bed, being found in the midst of volcanic matter. I hope some day to
be able to ascertain the limits of the fossil beds.
The following is a section of the shaft :
1 . Surface soil, black, 3 feet.
2. Soft basalt, 2j do.
3. Hard basalt, 7 do.
4. Soft basalt, 1 J do.
5. Wacke with nodules of limestone, 3 do.
6. Travertine with imbedded shells, l£ do.
7. Coarse silicious grit, 2 do.
8. Hard basalt.
VIII.— Meteorological Register at Barelly, in 1831. By H. S.JBoul- i
derson, Esq. \$ w
May. Bar. 32 # T. A. M. B. May. Bar. 32* T. A. M. B.
8
3 P. M. .
28.914
102
17
Noon
28.930
100
76
11
5 P. M. .
.739
106
73
Sunset
.815
100
75
12
7* A. M. .
.836
81
66
10 P. M. .
.850
94
73
3 50 P. M.
.803
105
74
18
6 A. M. .
.833
78
63
13
Noon . .
.908
98
75
9 A. M. .
.847
91
73
2 40 P. M.
.857
99
75
2 P. M. .
.791
103
72
14
6 A. M. .
.844
83
* 70
4 20 P. M.
.756
104
74
9* A. M. .
.889
92
74
19
7 A. M. .
.814
92
71
5* P. M. .
.820
102
75
9* A. M. .
.848
98
76
10 P. M. .
.851
92
75
Noon .. ..
.814
102
77
15
6* A. M. .
.893
84
69*
3 P. M. .
.752
104
76
9 A. M. .
.935
91
73
20
9* A. M. .
.894
95
75
Noon
.921
98
75
3 P. M. .
.834
103
75
3i P. M. .
.858
103*
76
Sunset ....
.815
101
75
5* P. M. .
.830
102
76
21
6 A. M. .
.846
81
65
16
7* A. M. .
.972
89
73
9 A. M. .
.880
93
73
10 A. M. .
.965
96
77
4 P. M. .
.823
104
75
Noon
.965
100
77
Sunset ....
.838
100
74*
4 P. M. .
.905
102
77
12 P. M. .
.853
90
68
Sunset ....
.886
100
76
22
7 A. M. .
.878
88
70
17
6* A. M. .
.914
86
72
9 A. M, .
.921
92
73
Digiti
zed by G00gle
642
May.
Meteorological Register *t BareUy, in 1831.
£Dbc.
Bar. 32o T. A. M. B. June, 1831. Bar. 32° T. A. M. B.
22
Noon ....
28.903
99
74
3
7 P. M. .
28.652
98
81*
4 P. M. .
.821
103
76
10$ P. M. .
.673
96
82
23
6 A. M. .
.913
82
68
4
7* A. M. .
.779
92
82
9 A. M. .
.961
91
72
9* A. M. .
.797
94
82
3 P. M. .
.886
102
77
1 P. M. .
.777
100
84
6 P. M. .
.851
100
76
Sunset ....
.677
100
82
11 P. M. .
.882
91
74
5
8 A. M. .
.839
92
82
24
7 A. M. .
.924
84
72
Sunset ....
.721
100
83
9 A. M. .
.968
93
75
10* P. M. .
.725
97
. 82
4 P. M. .
.876
102
76*
6
6* A. M. .
.823
90
80
25
7 A.M..
.960
84
73
10 A. M. .
.841
94
82
Noon ....
.978
102
75
3* P. M. .
.727
100
83*
Sunset ....
.880
100
75
Sunset ....
.557
99
82
26
6 A. M. .
.961
84
74
10* P. M. .
.743
94
81*
Noon ....
.996
101
78
7
7 A. M. .
.805
91
80
Sunset ....
.894
100
75
9 A. M. .
.857
90
80*
27
7 A. M. .
.971
88
74
4 P. M. .
.757
97
82
9 A. M. .
.976
94
75*
Sunset ....
.773
91
82
Noon ....
.940
102
78
10 P. M. .
.835
87
78
3 P. M. .
.898
104
78
8
7* A. M. .
.899
87
79
5 P. M. .
.858
104
77
10 A. M. .
.904
93
80*
10 P. M. .
.860
97
76
Sunset ....
.768
94-
83
28
6 A. M. .
.900
85
73
10 P. M. .
.829
92
81
9 A. M. .
.928
94
77
9
7* A. M. .
.926
81
75
Noon ....
.898
102
79
10 A. M. .
.935
81*
76
11 P. M. .
.852
. 92
71
4 P. M. .
.865
90
80
29
7 A. M. .
.855
88
70
14
8 A. M. .
.884
89
81
9 A. M. .
.888
94
73
Noon
.891
91
82
7 P. M. .
.794
100
74
1* P. M. .
.858
91
82
10 P. M. .
.828
95
71
4 P. M. .
.804
90*
81
30
7 A. M. .
.847
88
71
Sunset ....
.800
90
80*
2 P. M. .
.806
102
77i
9* P. M. .
.802
88
82
Sunset ....
.755
101
76
15
7 A. M. .
.803
86
82*
31
7 A. M. .
.844
90
78
9 A. M. .
.819
88*
82*
10$ A. M. .
.845
97
79*
3 P. M. .
.707
95
81
Noon ....
.745
101
79
10* P. M. .
.732
91
81*
Sunset ....
.666
100
79
16
7* A. M. .
.755
90
82
11 P. M. .
.680
93*
78
2* P. M. .
.692
98
82*
June, 1831.
Sunset ....
.647
97
83
1
7 A. M. .
28.736
89
76
11* P. M. .
.725
92
82
10 A. M. .
.851
94*
79*
17
7* A. M. .
.766
91
81
Noon
.742
98
80
9 A. M. .
.768
93*
82
2 30 P. M..
.667
102
80
2 P. M. .
.724
98*
83
4 P. M. .
.634
103
79*
10* P. M. .
.709
94
82
6 P. M. .
.581
102
78
18
7* A. M. .
.729
92
83
8 P. M. .
.597
98
78
11 A. M. .
.735
96
83
11 P. M. .
.615
96
78
1* P. M. .
.705
100
82
2
7 A. M. .
.712
91
80
3 P. M. .
.675
101
82
10 A. M. .
.758
95
82
Sunset ....
.657
98
82
3* P. M. .
.660
101
82
9 40 P. M.
.713
95
82
6 P. M. .
.612
101
81
19
7 A. M. .
.787
89
81
10* P. M. .
.343
96
78
9 A. M. .
.822
89
82
3
6 A. M. .
.769
88
79
Noon ....
.801
94
83
9 A. M. .
.808
92
80
3 P. M. .
.721
96
83
Noon
.807
98
81
20
8 A. M. .
.805
87
82
2 P. M. .
.751
100
82
2 P. M. .
.777
90
82|
3* P. M. .
.709
100
82
12 P. M. .
.782
87
82
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Meteorological Register at Barelly, in 1831.
$43
JllH
#, 1831.
Bar. 32° 2
86§
M.B.
81*
Jwm, 1831.
Bar, 32» 7
\A.
87
M.B.
21
7* A. M. .
28.805
25
2* P. M.
. 28.684
84
10 A. M. .
.843
88
82*
10* P. M.
.713
85*
83
Sunset ....
.734
88
81
26
7 A. M.
.767
79
79
11 P. M. .
.819
86$
82*
9* A. M.
.825
80
80
22
6* A. M. .
.833
86*
82
Noon . . . .
.825
82
80
Noon .. ..
.819
95
82*
Sunset . . .
.813
82*
80
Sunset ....
.761
94
82*
9* P. M.
.812
82
81
10 P. M. .
.810
91
82
27
5* A. M.
.813
81
80
23
7* A. M. .
.817
87
81*
9* A.M.
.844
84
81*
9 A. M. .
.834
90*
82
Sunset
.758
86
82
2 P. M. .
.791
95
82*
11 P. M.
.794
82
80
10* P. M. .
.830
85*
81*
28
7* A. M.
.806
82
80*
24
5 40 A. M.
.765
84
80*
Sunset . . .
.683
89
84
9 A. M. .
.778
85
82
29
8 A. M.
.759
84
81*
Sunset ....
.673
88
83*
Sunset .. .
.758
78
77
10 P. M. .
.725
86
84
10 P. M.
.794
82
81*
25
7i A. M. .
.707
86*
84
30
7 A. M
.839
82
80
9* A. M. .
.727
87
84
9 A. M.
.859
81
80
The detached thermometer was in an open northern verandah, the
moistened bulb thermometer was inside the house. The barometer
was a plain tube with brass scale. The barometer tube was filled with
unboiled mercury, and the air gathered and extracted by repeatedly
reversing it. In the " Gleanings," for October, J 831 , 1 mentioned the
altitude of Barelly, gained from a few observations, as about 1080 feet. I
was surprised at the result myself, but could not account for it. I think
I must have made some mistake in recording the observations, or per-
haps in adjusting the scale to the tube. The barometer with which
the above observations were made was precisely similar to the former
one, but not the same. A set* of 10 observations in May, compared
with those of the corresponding times in Calcutta, gives altitude of Ba-
relly, feet 742.29. Another set of 10 observations in the same month,
feet 745.58 ; a 3rd set of 10 in the same month, feet 730.32, and a 4th
set of 10 gives feet 755.4, and a set of 31 observations in June gives,
feet 753.35. With the former tube and scale, a set of eight observations
in May, 1830, gave the altitude of the "oaks" at Masuri, 6796
feet above Calcutta ; with the same barometer in November, the same
♦ lit set of 10 Calcutta Barometer 29.617 Thermometer 92.94
Bareilly
28.891
98.15
2nd ditto
Calcutta
29.560
92.49
Bareilly
28.833
99.7
3rd ditto
Calcutta
29.599
93.67
Bareilly
28.885
97.5
4th ditto
Calcutta
29.663
93.7
Bareilly
28.924
98.7
5th ditto
Calcutta
29.487
89.9
Bareilly
28.746
92.5
Digitized by
Google
644 Meteorological Register at BareUy, t» 1831 . [Dec.
year, 15 observations gave the altitude, feet 6777.7, and another set of
10 made it, feet 6775.1, and then the latter were taken after along
march in the hills, daring which the barometer had been repeatedly
refilled. I have a barometer made by Bate, on the principle of
Guy Suesac's syphon barometer, with Captain Kater's improvements,
(that is the description given of it,) and it seems in excellent order.
This stands about .05 higher than a barometer of the above simple
make, and filled in the same easy manner as above mentioned. (I should
mention that the tubes used have all been of large bore.) Bat I hate
no means of discovering the error of either.
The following observations were made at Hardwar, near the centre
of the pass, in a house about 150 feet above the bed of the Ganges :
Bar. 32°. Ther.
84 at 10 P. M. suddenly came a cool
96 breexe and reduced the Ther. to 91.
100
106
104
99
98
75
83
94
102
106
The height deduced from comparison with corresponding altitudes in
Calcutta is, from those in the Journal*, 1214 feet above Calcutta, and
from those at the Surveyor General's Office, 1276 do.
The latter are more numerous. The mean of these would be about
1245 feet, and if the estimated altitude above the river be deducted,
it would leave the height of the Ganges at Hardwar above Calcutta
about 1095 feet. The barometer used was, as before, a plain tube,
freshly filled with mercury. Though not tried, I suppose the depression
of the moist bulb thermometer must have been near 30°.
In elucidation of the remarks on filling barometers when the air is
damp, (vide Journal of the As. Soc. ii. 260.) I may record the following
experiments made by myself:
On the 12th July last, when the depression of the moist bulb ther-
mometer was 9£°, I filled a tube which stood exactly the same as one
filled on the 3rd June, when the air was very dry ; in both these tubes
• My barometer stands on an average .044 lower than the Surreyor General's,
which will make an addition of 50 feet necessary to the altitude calculated. Ed.
1833, May 24,
71 A. M.
28.216
9 20 A. M
. .236
Noon ..
.224
2 P. M.
.182
4 P. M.
.103
Sunset . .
.107
9* P. M.
.119
„ 25,
Sunrise. .
.153
7 A. M.
.220
9 A.M.
.227
Noon ..
.219
2 P. M.
.187
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.
Thermometers.
1st Aug.
Bng. Bar.
Altd.
Detd.
M.B.
Plain tube.
4 P.M.
28.684
86$
87
83ft
28.594
5 P.M.
.666
do.
do.
do.
.412
.374
.564
6 P.M.
.672
86§
85
83}
.552
.626
1883.] Asiatic Society. 645
the mercury stood about inch .05 lower than that in the English baro-
meter above mentioned.
On the 1st August, I emptied the tube which had been filled on the
3rd June ; and refilled it : the results of this and a few more experi-
ments I give below :
tube fresh filled.
tube again filled after re*
maining empty an hour.
tube again filled.
tube wiped out and filled.
ditto ditto.
tube wiped out very care-
fully.
The tube was wiped with an iron wire, round which silk was bound
for about six inches, and on the last occasion, I heated the silk over a
fire, and kept up a smart friction in the tube, till I felt a sensible heat
from it. I should think that similar results might always be gained.
The height at which the mercury stood, after this method of drying the
tube, being the same as regards the English barometer as what it was
when it was filled in very dry weather on the 3rd June.
IX. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society.
Wednesday Evening, the 26th December, 1833.
Captain W. N. Forbes, Engineers, in the Chair.
The Proceedings of the last Meeting were read. — G. A. Bushby, Esq.
proposed at the last Meeting, was elected a Member.
A. Hamilton, M. D. Surgeon of H. M. 41st Regiment of Foot, at Moul.
mein, was proposed as a Member by Mr. Twining, seconded by Mr. Pbinsef.
. Messrs. Mackenzie, J. S. Stopfobd, and Mr. A. Beattie, proposed by Mr.
Bagshaw, seconded by Dr. Tytler.
A letter was read from M. J. J. Marcel, Ancien Directeur de I'lmpii.
merie Roy ale, Membre de la Commission d'Egypte, &c. requesting to know
the result of his application of the 14th July, 1830, and presenting copies
of his Translations from the Arabic.
Mr. Marcel was elected an Honorary Member on the 4th January, 1832,
but the announcement had unfortunately miscarried.
A letter from G. A. Bushby, Esq. Officiating Secretary to Government,
General Department, intimating the resolution of the Right Hon'ble the
Governor General in Council, that the privilege of franking accorded to
Digiti
zed by G00gle
646 Asiatic Society. [Dae.
the Secretary of the Asiatic Society, and extending to the Journal of the
Asiatic Society, should cease from the 4th June, 18S4.
After some discussion, the Secretary was empowered, in any representa-
tion he might think fit to make to the Government, on the plea of his en-
gagement to print official documents of a scientific nature, to express the
earnest desire of the Society for the continuance of a privilege which has
already proved so highly beneficial to the interests and extension of Science
in India.
Library.
The following Books were presented :
Marcel's Conies Arabes du Chbykh El-mohdy, for July, August, September,
October, and November, 1832, and February, March, April, and May, 1833 — by
the Author.
Journal Astatique, 64, 65 — by the Asiatic Society of Paris.
Abdul Mujeed's edition of the Seyr-ul Mutakhereen, 1 vol.— by the Editor.
Sixth volume of the Transactions of the Medical and Physical Society— by the
Society.
Select Speeches of John Serjeant of Pennsylvania— by Herambanath Thakoor.
The following works, published under the auspices of the General Com-
mittee of Pubhc Instructions, were forwarded by the Secretary, Mr. J. C.
C. Sutherland.
Id ay a, vol. 4. Fatawa Alemgiri, vol. 4.
Kefaya, vols. 3 and 4. Raghuvansa.
Aphorisms of Hippocrates. Retnavali.
Sudeedee. Wilson's Sanscrit Dictionary.
Meteorological Registers from July to November, 1833— by the Surveyor Gene-
ral.
MS. Register of the Weather at Jorhat, Assam, for the months of August and
September, 1833— by Mr. H. Biggc.
The following books were received from the book-sellers :
Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopedia, Herschei's Astronomy.
. — Chronology of History.
Read an extract of a letter from Captain J. B. Jebvis, Bombay Engineers.
The letter announces, that the writer is engaged in the publication of a systematic
account of the weights and measures of India, to which is annexed an account of
Indian Chronology, gleaned from the Vedas, Siddhantas, Purinas, Sec. and brought
into one view with the systems that have prevailed ia all ages over the world.
Whence he ha* deduced that all have & common origin, and that the measures of
time in use among the Hindus were introduced so late as A. D. 607-8. The work
is in octavo, 700 pages, and ia now nearly through the press. It is to be published
by subscription.
Resolved,* that the prospectus be circulated among the members, and a
list of subscribers returned to Captain Jebvis.
Antiquities.
A large Lingam, from the Jangira rock — presented by Lieut. T. S. Bums,
Engineers.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Asiatic Society. 647
An ancient Hindu gold coin (corresponding with No. 17 of Wilson's plates,
As. Res. xvii.) was exhibited to the meeting — by the same.
Accurate drawings of the stone lath or column now lying in the Fort at
Allahabad, and fac similes of all the inscriptions on it; and a small fragment
of the stone — by the same.
A paper on the subject, by Lieut. Burt, was read.
A talwar, or native sword of iron, dug up from six feet under the bed of
the Jamna river, was also presented by the same.
The weapon is of the modern form, and was probably lost with some wreck ; it
was corroded nearly through its substance.
A manuscript table exhibiting the particulars of the twenty-four Jinas of
the Budh religion, drawn up by a Pundit at Hyderabad — presented by Mr.
£. C. Ravenshaw.
Museum,
A piece of planking and copper sheathing, from the bottom of the
Barque Adele, pierced by the horn of an unicorn fish, on her voyage from
Penang to Akyab, on the 24th January, 1833 — presented by Dr. Twining,
on the part of Dr. Baker, Civil Surgeon of Noacolly.
The following extract from the log of the vessel was read :
Lat. 9° 23' 53" north, Long. 96° 31 ' 45" east, at 8b. 3m. p. m. of the 24th Jan.,
felt a sudden very severe shock aft, which made the vessel shake : could not ac-
count for it.
26th January. Found the vessel leak slightly, in consequence as supposed of the
shock.
12th February. Lying at Akyab ; cleared away sand-ballast, to examine the
cause of the leak. Found a rent in the ship's bottom, caused by the born of an
unicorn fish thrust through the copper sheathing, and four inches of planking ; the
horn protruded seven inches on the interior, and bad been snapped off close to
the copper on the outside by the struggles doubtless of the animal to disengage
itself.
Edward Marguard, Commander."
A stuffed Pangolin, or five-toed Manis— presented by Dr. Burlini.
Two tigers' heads ; the skin of a Boa Constrictor, 14 feet long ; two stuffed
birds ; two triangles, ornamented with peacock's feathers ; an Assamese hat,
and other Curiosities from Assam, were presented by Dr. Burlini, in the
name of M. B. Biancbi.
Further specimens of the Hoshungabad coal were received, from Captain
J. R. Ouseley.
Although of a better quality than the former specimen, (see page 485,) this
slaty coal is still very inferior, being in fact little better than a bituminous
shale ; its composition agrees nearly with that of the specimen inserted in the
table of India coals, page 283 of the Gleanings, vol. iii.
Specific gravity 1.510
Composition :— volatile matter.. .. 34.0 '
Carbon 39.7 > 100.0
Red earthy ash .. .. 26 3,
It burns with a good flame, and leaves a slaty ash.
•i'
Digiti
zed by G00gle
648 Miscellaneous. [Dae.
Specimens of the fossil bones, kankar, and rocks extracted from the bed
of the Jamna — by Lieut. T. 8. Burt, Engineers.
These form a valuable addition to the fossils presented in the name of Captain
£. Smith at the last Meeting, and they contain the following bones not found in
that series :
14. Fragments of the tusk of an elephant : one piece of very large size.
The patella or kneepan of ditto.
13. Teeth of the camel ?
15. Tooth of a horse.
Part of the jaw of a human skull, and one other bone, were evidently recent,
burning, before the blowpipe, &c. whereas those in the fossil state did not contain the
slightest trace of animal matter, and were of much higher specific gravity than or-
dinary bones : the animal matter seemed principally replaced by carbonate of lime
and clay iron. Drawings of the three teeth, marked as above, 13, 14, 15, have been
inserted in the Plate of Captain Smith's collection, (PI. xxv. of the present number.)
Lieut. Burt also presented a collection of nine species of shells found in
the bed cf the Jamna at Kdrim Khdn.
Captain £. Smith's notes on the kankar formation, and on the fossil bones,
collected in the Jumna river, were then read.
Also a letter from Dr. H. H. Spry, on the subject of the fossil shells,
presented by him at a former Meeting.
[Both of these are printed in the present number.]
A map of a route from Hoshangabad to the Fort of Makrai, in the Kali-
bhlt hills, was presented in the name of Lieut. R. H. Miles, with remarks
on the Goand inhabitants, and on the features of the country, by the same
officer.
A note on the climate of the fossil elephant, by the Rev. R. Everest, was
read.
[These will be printed in an early number.]
Thanks were voted for the several contributions of the evening.
X. — Miscellaneous.
[original communications.]
1.— Note on the Tailor Bird's Nett. By Lieut. GifFord.
" I send you a tailor bird's nest along with the Journal of the Asiatic Society, in
which I see a description is given of it. This is the third nest I have found ; the first
one was built in a bang hen bush ; the two last in a low thick shrub (name I know not,)
but the natives make a reddish dye from the flower, which is a very light yellow
colour, with pretty large leaves.
The specimen I send you was constructed of three green living leaves, with two
small old (dry) ones, to fill up a space where the living ones would not meet. The
leaves were sewn together with raw and spun cotton ; the bird is a light brown
above, and n dirty white below, about four inches in length from tip of bill to end
of tail : the mdlii call the bird Phutkir
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous'. 649'
2.— Note on the Inscription on the Hindu Coin. (PI. VIII. Fig. 15J
At page 415 of the present volume I stated, that the characters of the inscription
on the reverse of the ancient gold coins of Hindu fabrication from Kanouj, repre-
sented in fig. 15, and in several coins of Plate I. vol. xvii. Asiatic Researches, was
not legible. Mr. Wilson had however suggested, that the three first letters
agreed with the ancient Nagarf characters JfTZf* and I find on referring to Dr.
Babington'b Account •/the Inscriptions and Sculptures at MahdmalaipAr, that all
of the letters may be unquestionably identified with the ancient Sanskrit characters
of the Rat ha sculpture, so ably decyphered by that gentleman, and of which he
bas given a complete alphabet in the same volume.
The first letter is probably ^ rather than js or 5T although as observed by Dr.
Babinoton, these letters are very similar in form ; the fourth letter is 9? and the
whole word thus restored becomes clearly OT^TTC but the meaning is still as
hidden as ever ; and if it be a proper name, none such is to be found in the cata-
logues of Hindu princes. — Ed.
3. — Radiation in Valleys,
Mr. W. Cracroft, in 1832, made the following observations for several mornings
at sun-rise, in passing over the Kasya bills, on the radiation of heat to the sky.
Therm, on Remark*,
straw.
27-5 ice formed in a tumbler in the house.
24
34 at top of hill, brisk wind,
30 at bridge, in valley, 130 feet lower.
30 at top of hill, little wind.
27 at bridge below.
30 at top*, six inches above the ground.
25.5 at bridge, ditto
— on top of hill on a mat, ice within six
inches of bulb, out ail night !(?)
26 at bridge.
39 at top of hill*, two feet raised.
32 at bottom of valley, 80 feet below.
37.5 heavy dew, same on straw.
46f J4 ft. from ground, fin a ditch 2 ft. dp.
Prom the above, it may generally be remarked, that the bottom of a valley is
much colder than the top of a hill at night ; although the latter must be much more
open to radiation : atrial currents may be the cause of this apparent anomaly.
4. — Bones in the Delta Alluvium.
In the Report of the Asiatic Society's Committee on the boring experiment an
observation occurs, that some bones were discovered in the strata of blue clay allu-
vium of the circular canal, at a depth of about 20 feet below the surface : on refer-
ence to some old papers in Mr, Wilson's possession, a memorandum has been met
with of a similar fact observed on digging a tank at Dumdum, in the year 1813*
Lieut J. Colvin, Engineers, describes the circumstance as follows :— " The soil is
throughout a fine garden mould, from two to three feet thick :— there are no nala*
-visible, bnt Dumdum is nearly surrounded by jbils and salt-water takes. The
bones form a kind of regular line with some intervals of a foot or two between
them ; they lie pretty close together, their interstices filled with earth. They are
Dot*.
Jan,
13
Place,
Surarfm,
Therm,
eutpended.
38°
14
15
16
Mouflong, 9
Myrong,
Nanklao,
A.M. 30
• 27
39
31
17
Ditto,
33
30
18
Ditto,
42*
28.5
19
Ditto,
49
27
20
Mopea,
43*
33
21
22
Ongshye,
Ranigaon,
37.5
50t
Digiti
zed by G00gle
650 Miscellaneous. [Die.
so soft that all bat the thickest bones break on endeavouring to separate them
from the earth. I cannot say to what animal they belong, but I am very sure there
are now no animals at Dumdum to which such large bones could have belonged,
and I hare never heard of any kind of deer near the place. The tree was found at
a depth of 18 feet below the ground ; it seems to be Sooudry, (as is the case wilh
most of the wood found in similar situations elsewhere.)"
We hope when a deposit of bones is again found, either at Dumdum or in any
. other parts of the Delta, some pains will be taken to extract them carefully, for
comparison with existing species of the inhabitants of the present Sunderban swamps
and forests ; for, although, geologically speaking, they are of very modern origin, and
we trace in the names of villages considerably higher up the Delta the fact of the pre-
sent continent having at one period been divided into islands : such as Agardwfp,
Sukhsagar, &c. Still at the present observed rate of recovery of flooded Sunderband
land, it appears to require a very lengthened process to nil up from 18 to 25 feet of
alluvium over the peat stratum, which was evidently the Sunderban vegetation of the
time. History lends no aid in denning the sea boundary at different epochs. We
must therefore seek the aid of physical research to solve the interesting question of
the growth of the Delta. * J. P.
5.— Fall of Fish from the Sky.
The phenomenon of fish falling from the sky in the rainy season, howerer in-
credible it may appear, has been attested by such circumstantial evidence, that no
reasonable doubt can be entertained of the fact. I was as incredulous as my neigh-
bours, until I once found a small fish, which had apparently been alive when it fell*
in the brass funnel of my pluviometer at Benares, which stood on an insulated stone
pillar, raised five feet above the ground in my garden. I have now before me a note
of a similar phenomenon, on a considerable scale, which happened at the NoLol-
hatty factory, zillah Dacca Jelalpur, in 1830.
Mr. Cameron, who communicated the fact, took the precaution of having a recalar
deposition of the evidence of several natives who had witnessed the fall, nu.de in
Bengalee, and attested before the magistrate : the statement is well worthy of pre-
servation in a journal of science; I therefore make no apology for introducing a
translation at length. The shower offish took place on the 19th February, 1830,
in the neighbourhood of the Surbundy factory, Feridpoor. J. P.
Deposition qf the Witnesses to the Fall of Fish from Heaven, on the 9th of Phalgun,
1236, B. E. at Have Hi t zillah Dacca Jelalpur.
1. Shekh Kitabuddin, son of Shabdi, and Shekh Shumsuddin, son of Bakshu,
were called, and declared in their deposition, saying, " That on Friday, in the month
of Phalgun, we do not recollect the date, at 12 o'clock p. m., the sky being cloudy*
there was slight rain, and a number of fish of different kinds and sizes fell from
heaven ; we took some of these fish and retired home. This is the account which
we know/'
2. Shekh Sulimuddin, son of Ibadullah, inhabitant of Bibhagdi, declared in
answer, saying, " On a Friday, in the month of Phalgun, the date of which I do not
recollect, at 12 o'clock evening, while I was coming from a village named JVtataJ-
bati, I perceived a badali fish, large about one cubit, fall before me from the sky ;
after which, I went further, and found another fish of the same size, lying
upon the ground. I picked up these two fish and proceeded forward ; and as soon
as I arrived at home, I found, to my great surprize, that many persons had likewise
collected fish, and carried along with them. This is all, and I know no more/
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Miscellaneous. 651
3. Shekh Mnniruddin, son of Mydi, inhabitant of Umerbati, expressed in bis
deposition,—" About 12 o'clock p. m. on Friday of Phalgun, tbe date of which I have
forgot, tbe clouds being gathered together, began to rain, and a little after, many fish,
large and small, began to fall from tbe sky. I picked up some of them and carried
to my house, but I did not like to taste any of them. I know no more of this
account."
4. Fakirchand Chang, inhabitant of Nagdi, was called in, and declared in bis
deposition, "That in the month of Phalgun, the date and day of which have escaped
my memory, at 12 o'clock p. if, the sky began to be cloudy, and to rain little ; while
I was sitting in the front part of my cottage, I observed a mtrgal, and some other
fish, bodulti, &c. of different size, fall from the sky. I picked up about five or six of
these fish to satisfy my curiosity, but afterwards threw them away, and did not eat
them at all. This is ray account."
5. Shekh Cbaudhari Ahmed, son of Mutiullah, inhabitant of Nagdi, relates
in his deposition, " That I had been doing my work at a meadow, where I per-
ceived at the hour of 12 o'clock, the sky gather clouds, and began to rain slightly,
then a large fish touching my back by its head fell on the ground. Being surprised,
I looked about, and behold a number of fish likewise fell from heaven! they
were Mti/, tale, guzal, ntirgal, and bodul. I took 10 or 1 1 fish in number, and I
saw many other persons take many — then I returned home, I looked at heaven,
and I saw like a flock of birds flying up, but these my perceptions was not clear
enough. Amongst these fish, many were found rotten, without heads, and others
fresh and perfect ; and amongst the number which I bad got, five were fresh, and
the rest stinking and headless.
6. Shekh Turikullah, inhabitant of Nagdi, 12 years of age, declared in his
deposition, " That in the month of Phalgun, on a certain Friday, I do not recollect
the date, while I was sitting in my own house, I perceived a number of fish fall
from the sky, some of them on the roof of my cottage ; one of them was large,
about one cubit, and three seers in weight. I know no more."
7. Shekh Suduruddin, inhabitant of Nagdi, was called in, and declared in his
deposition, saying, " On Friday, at 12 o'clock p, if. in the month of Phalgun, I
do not recollect the date, when I was at work in a field, I perceived the sky darkened
by clouds, began to rain a little, and a large fish fell from the sky. I was confounded
at the sight, and soon entered my small cottage, which I had there, but I came out
again as soon as the rain had ceased, and found every part of my hut scattered
with fish, they were boduli, mirgul, and noucki, and amounted to 25 in num-
ber. — I know no more."
8. Shekh Katbuddio, inhabitant of Nagdi, relates in his deposition, saying, "At
12 o'clock p. if. of Friday of Phalgun, the date I forget ; as I was coming
from the fields t I saw a number of fish spread on the bank of a nala. I picked
up six of them, viz. two boduli, two tmrgal, and two nouehi . besides these, there
were many other fish of numerous kinds, and they were witnessed by many persons
who were there. Some of these fish were fresh, but others r otten and without
beads. I know no more."
9. Sree Dipchundru Bundopadhya, son ofPuncharam Bundopadhya, inhabitant of
Sobrndi, aged 45 years, declared in his deposition, " That in the month of Phalgun,
I cannot recollect the date, seeing the sky commenced to gather clouds, I sat
down near the door of a workman's cottage ; it was then precisely 12 o'clock,
when a drizzling rain began to fall ; and at the same time, two boduli fish fell
down from heaven. I soon got up nd marched on, and in the midst of tbe road,
Digiti
zed by G00gle
€52 Miscellqjieons. [Die.
saw several other fish fallen be/ore me. I picked up some of these fish— bat one
named Banchha Ram Chung forbade me, saying y ' Do not touch these fish ; you do
not know what fish they are, and how they have fallen here.' Listening to him, I
threw away all the fish, and went away. This is my account of the fish/*
[Several other depositions of those who were not immediately eye-witnesses
are omitted.]
6. — fossil h elU near Herat.
[Extracts of a letter from Dr. J. G. Gerard, dated Her6t, 2Ut June, 1833.]
" I have discovered the locality of a large deposit of organic exuvisj within
thirty miles of this place (Herat), but have not thought it prudent to visit the spot,
lest I should find myself unexpectedly in the hands of the Turkomans.
" The fossils correspond to the species represented asPecten, — they abound in the
side of a mountain, which is evidently calcareous, but are especially found in a
water-course, being rolled from their situs by that agency. Judging from the eleva-
tion of this city, which by the ebullition of water (207 J) approaches to 2,800 feet, if the
barometer stood then at 30,000* the locality of the fossils maybe deduced at a height
of between 3 and 4000 feet. Elevation in such objects has ceased to be interest-
ing, since the new theory of subterranean projection has deprived it of a msracukma
aspect. Monsieur Jaquemont when at Simla, read to me (explained) a letter he
had received from another traveller, Mons. Elie de Beaumont in South America,
I think, wherein it was mentioned, that there was a subterranean connexion betwixt
the most distant mountain ranges, and that a simultaneous movement was actually
going on (traceable) by which their masses were gradually elevated."
7. — Cochineal.
" I hear the Cochineal insect is here, but not appreciable, that is, it cannot be
turned to account, from the inability of the people to dry it properly ; this is at
least one cause. I have been asked the method of its preparation, but all my know-
ledge extends to a faint recollection of the' process adopted by the South Americans,
treated of in Humboldt's published Account of New Spain. Artificial heat is there
used to kill the insect. Query, may not the very mode of extinguishing life affect
the properties of the colouring matter ? Certain it is, that in preparations of
insects, this is so much a necessary precaution that various gases, the air-pump, Ac-
have been resorted to for the better preservation of the hues and form of the
specimens. Do we not know that there is virtue in the manner of killing •niiyi*u
for our daily alhnent ?— that the anatomist can readily discover the effects of disoxy-
genation (in suffocation) upon the blood and even the muscular fibre, that electri-
city (lightning) and the Simoom not only change the color, but produce decompo-
sition of animal matter when their effects are fatal. I don't remember what Humboldt
says on the subject, bnt the complaint here is, that the insect cannot be killed
without adegradation of its virtues. It is found in the root of a plant that flourishes
in a marsh, and many people here have exhausted their skill in endeavours to
appreciate its value : most of what reaches Herat is imported from Bokhara where
it is received from Russia, and 1 believe from Yarkhund ; the latter need not surprise
us if indeed tbc insect is an inhabitant of that country ; the industry and artificial
«x pert n ess of the Chinese almost lead us to the conclusion.
A species of Cochineal, or at least a substitute, is found in India, but I suspect
that the mercantile article is an import from South America. As climate baa such
* As the observation was made in Jane, when the sea barometer would stand at
29.5, the altitude may be more correctly assumed to be 2,000 feet. See page 190.— Bn.
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Miscellaneous. 653
an effect upon the productions of animal and vegetable existence, and an arid one
towards the improvement of a great many of them, especially Horticultural, while
the softness of the goats' fleece seems to owe its existence to that cause, — the silk-
worm its superior procreative powers, and even the silk its finer structure ; — the
cats of those regions, Cabul especially, are well known ; — when these and thousands
of others are the effects of those bright and eternally blue skies, we may infer that
the kirmes (Keerm, worm), or cochineal of Herat, Bokhara, and other places
requires only the application of skill to render it an appreciable commodity, and
even superior to the American species, except indeed that comes from the dry
regions of Chili and Peru. The bazar (retail) price of Cochineal at Herat is now six
Rs. per seer, country measures, or 32 St. Rs. per Indian seer. The moist opium of
the place sells at 44 Rs. per seer of India, and after one year when it is pretty dry,
at 70 Rs. ! while a species that comes from Yezd and Kain in Persia, in sticks like
sealing-wax and as brittle as a dried reed, sells at the enormous price of 80 to 100
Rs. per Indian seer. At Bokhara I procured some at 90 Rs. methinks the Hon'ble
Company's opium from Malwa at a productive cost of three Rs. per seer, would
realize remunerating- profit in this country, where every production of nature or
art is so exorbitantly high-priced, (valuable.)"
%.— Reply to the Questions of the Burmese Philosopher- Prince.
Sir,
Having not yet seen, in your interesting Journal, any replies to the questions
proposed by the Burmese Prince, in vol. ii. p. 47, 1 venture to send you the follow-
ing for insertion, and hope they may be found satisfactory.
Investigation of Sir Isaac Newton* s statement, that some Comets have been raised,
by the effect of the sun's rays, to a heat, 900 times greater than that of red hot iron.
Reply to 2nd Question.
It is a well known fact*, that the force of heat varies, inversely, as the square
of the distance of the direct cause of that heat, from the object affected by it ; so
that in order to determine the above point, it is only necessary to refer to the
distance of the sun from the earth (95 millions of miles), where the measure of
force of his rays is known, and having the distance of a Comet from the sun, to
ascertain by the above rule, the degrees of beat to which the Comet has been raised,
and then with the aid of Wedgwood's, or any other pyrometer, shew, by calcula-
tion, the excess of heat of the Comet over that of red hot iron for the answer.
In Newton's Philosophy by Maclaurin of the year 1748, page 373, it appears,
that the Comet of 1680 approached 166 times nearer to the sun, than our earth is;
let this Comet therefore be taken for the investigation.
Now the distance of the earth from the sun, 95,000,000 miles divided by 166
times is = 572,300 miles, or distance of the Comet from the sun ; consequently,
by the above rule inverse, as the square of 572,300 viz. 327,527,290,000 miles to
100 degrees of heat here, so is the square of 95,000,000, or 9,025,000,000,000,000
miles, to 2,755,500 degrees of heat of the Comet.
The degrees in Wedgwood's Pyrometer, are reduced to their equivalent in
Farenheit's thermometer by multiplying them by 130, and adding 1,077 ; because
each degree of the former, is equal to 130 of the latter, and Wedgwood's flrst
degree commences at Fahrenheit's 1077th, (vide Fyfb's Elements of Chemistry of
# Vide Ferguson's Astronomy, of 1790, p. 88.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
654 Miscellaneous. [Dec.
1327, vol. I. p. 19.) Assume 100° of Farenheit, for the measure of tbe heat ex-
perienced on the surface of the earth, by the direct influence of the son's rays.
It is stated in the work above quoted, that silver melts at 22 degrees of Wedg-
wood, and as I am not at present exactly aware, at what degree of heat iron
becomes red hot, I will assume that of silver, just going into a state of fusion,
instead of it*.
Silver melts at 22° of Wedgwood, and 22 multiplied by 130 plus 1077, equal
3,937* of Farenheit*, therefore, the degrees of heat of the Comet, 2,755,500*
divided by 3,937°, or heat of melting silver, will make the heat of the former, 700
tiroes greater than that of silver going into a state of fusion.
(Maclaurin, without investigating the truth of the remark, says, the Comet con-
ceived a heat, 2,000 times greater than that of iron almost going into fusion. This
must be a mistake, for I find that iron fuses at 158° Wedgwood, = 21,617* Faren-
heit, so that, using this as a divisor, instead of 3,937°, we obtain only 127 J for the
number of times excess of the Comet's heat, over that of iron in a state of
fusion).
For gold under the same circumstances, 32° W. =r 5,237° F., at which it melts :
therefore 2,755,500° -f- 5,237 = 526 times excess of the Comet's heat over that
of gold in a state of fusion.
Tin melts at 442° F. (Fyfe, vol. II. p. 35,) therefore 2,755,500 -f- 442 =6,234
times excess of do. over tin. (But at page 21, vol. I. Fyfe says tin melts at 644
F., therefore 2,755.500 -r- 644 = 4,278 times do. do).
Copper melts at 30° Wedgwood = 4,977° F., therefore 2,755,500 -f- 4,977=554
times for the excess over copper, in a similar state.
Lead at 612° F. ; therefore 2,755,500 -£■ 612 = 4,502 times of same over lead
in fusion.
I believe Sir Isaac Newton's mode of measuring the quantity of caloric, in
heated bodies, was, by their rate or time of cooling, to a degree equal to that of
the surrounding medium.
It does not, however, so far as I can see, follow, that the interior, to the very
centre of the comet, becomes heated by the sun to so great a degree, as is here
indicated, and which affection applies to the surface particularly, for, the time that
the Comet is exposed to the sun's rays, its rate of motion being increased in pro-
portion to its proximity to the sun, (so as always to describe equal areas in equal
times,) would probably be of insufficient duration, for so large a body to conceive,
-to its centre, this immense degree of heat ; for, the comet has, no doubt, its sea-
sons, and days and nights, as well as the earth, and much free space, almost void
of the sun's heat, or even his light, in which to lose its caloric.
Since writing the above, I see by Mr. James Prinsep's experiments in the Asia-
tic Journal, vol. ii. page 140), that iron heated " uniformly to a glowing red,"
measured 1609° of temperature, Fahrenheit ; if this be used as a divisor, instead
of the former denominator, for the melting silver, we shall obtain as follows :
2,755,500 -T- 1609 = 1712.554 times excess of the Comet's heat over that of rod
hot iron.
It is evident, that this amount must fluctuate, in exact proportion to the number
of degrees, assumed for the measure of the sun's heat, as felt upon this globe, and
which I have taken at 100° ; but it appears that the sun's heat at Montpelier, raised
Amonton's thermometer, on one occasion, to the height of boiling water, or 212°
Fahrenheit, (see Hutton's Math. Diet, of 1815, p. 640). This would increase the
* Vide Ferguson's Astronomy, of 1790, p. 88.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.] Miscellaneous. 655
above amount (by 2. 12 times) to 3,630 times, but taking tbe general average beat
of tbe air, in tbe shade, in hot countries, at 70° only, the amount would be 7-10ths
of the above, =1200 times nearly; while for England, assuming 50° as a mean,
we have one half of the 1712=856 times excess of heat of the comet of 1680, over
that of iron raised to a glowing red : this is tolerably near the 900 times mentioned
by tha Burmese prince ; but the medium heat of air, out of doors in the shade in
England, is about 51. 4°, so that, multiplying 1,712. 554 above mentioned, by
51.4=514 we get 880$ for the excess of heat, differing only by 19$ from the
answer sought : but we get it nearer, by using the lOOdth. part of the mean heat
of the thermometer, out of doors, = 51.4 and of that within doors, 52.9 mean =
52-15 instead of the last mentioned .514dth., for we have 52.15 for the multiplier
of 1,712.554, and the product is 893 times, instead of 900 as desired, and lastly, it
becomes still nearer, viz. 905.9 times, by using the mean heat within doors or 52°.9
as above. This will, I trust, be considered sufficiently near and satisfactory. (N.B.
It is equal to the quotient of (95.000000), 3 X (572,300) * Xby T \^).
Afer the above was written, I found in the 1st volume of the Gleanings of
Science, page 96, that Mr. Prinsep has noticed the little reliance which is to be
placed on Wedgwood's Pyrometer, the degrees of which I have used in the former
calculations : this will not, however, affect the answer last given, viz. 905.9 where
1 have quoted that gentleman's own experiment, so that the statement is left
nearly as I had at first written it ; but as the measure of temperature, of some of
the metals there shewn, differs considerably from the corresponding ones here
noted, it is right to state, that in that work the metals are represented to melt,
at the undermentioned degrees of heat :
(4777° F. or its equivalent of Wedgwood.
2233° F do. Daniel.
1830° F do. Prinsep.
Gold at 2822.6 F do. J
Tbe degree of heat of the comet above fusing silver, &c. will therefore be as
follows, taking 100° for our temperature :
times using Wedg-^ mmmunrm
For melting Sil-I W00D * 8 I "ntntTof
ver, 12,755,500 -r- 2,233 = 1,234 .. do. Daniel's >> "t?"
■~ ■ ™ ■"" * Pkinsep's I * m £-
(2,755,500 -r 4,777 = 576 times us
2,755,500 -=-2,233= 1,234.. do.
2,755,500 -f- 1,380 =r 1,505 .. do.
i? r *a J 2,755,500 -f- 1,822.7 = 1,611 do. Im^^-J
For Gold. { 2 ; 755 ; 500 4- 2,517.6 = 1,094 do. } MoRVKA * fiJ
rature.
Correction.
Instead of 2,755,500 as a numerator, on the assumption of 100° being the heat
on the earth, take the medium heat, as before, 52°. 15, and the quotient of
95,000,000 s -*- 572,300' =or 1,436.990, and divide it by the degrees of the metal,
thus ;
Than silver fusing, the comet is *308 times hotter, by using Wedgwood's degrees
4,777,
■ Do. 1.436,990^-2,233 = 643J times by Daniel's Do.
Do. 1,436,990+ 1,830 = 785° Prinsep's Do.
Do. 1,436,990+1,822.7 = 788° 1 MoRVEAU . 8 Do .
Gold l,436,990-r-2,517.6 =570° J morveau s uq.
Digitized by
Google
65(5 Miscellaneous. [Dec.
For iron raised to a full red heat, (1,200°, according to Prinsep,) l,436,990°-r-
1,200° = 1,197.5 times, by using Prinsep's degrees.
For do. raised to an orange heat, 1650° P. 1, 436,990-^1,650=870 times by ditto.
Reply to 3rd Question.
I almost fear to venture an opinion on the next question, but I should say, that
the atmosphere is certainly, as the querist supposes, attracted, by the sun and
moon, when in conjunction, or opposition, in the same manner, as are the tides of
the ocean, or as any other light fluid, would be ; but why the barometer is not
sensibly affected, at these periods, I can only ask, whether he is sure that it is not
so affected, or so much, at least, that a fair conjecture may be hazarded, that its
rise is proportional to the increased height of the atmosphere, (if such indeed
occur, at the time of high tides,) ■ our purpose will, therefore, be to see, whether the
barometer can indicate this rise, or not, and if it do, to determine, what the
amount of that difference is.
May not one objection however be made, that will hare a tendency to controvert
this opinion, which is, that the force, exerted by the moon or sun, or both, to
elevate the atmosphere, above its usual level, might, on account of the elasticity,
or buoyancy of this body, destroy the additional weight, that would, otherwise, be
added to it ? In other words, would not the force of attraction, here supposed to
cause the additional height, by the hold, (if I may say so,) that it has on the fluid,
keep it in equilibrio, without adding any thing to the weight, by the increase of
the part so added ?
This remark will not, of course, apply to water, but will it not to air, which is
an elastic body ? If not, then I must resort to the first supposition, that there is a
rise of the barometer, and that it is proportional to the increased height of the
atmosphere, caused by the attraction of the sun and moon.
If the height of the atmosphere were uniform, and of the same weight, as it is at
the earth's surface, pressing about 14|lbs, on the square inch, it would extend no
farther than to the height of 5$ miles, or thereabouts, (see Hutton's Course, p
244, vol. ii.) whereas it reaches to between 40 and 50 miles, (the boundaries of
twilight only included, the air being so thin and attenuated, beyond that HiM*n<^
that its comparative weight amounts to almost nothing).
Now, if the height of the atmosphere be increased, by any cause, (excluding
heat, which would, however, have something to do with that increase, but has or
has not to do with this investigation,) beyond the height of 45 miles, a propor-
tional part must be reduced, in height, on the sides of the earth, which are at
right angles to the horizon, acted upon by the sun and moon, to make up for
this quantity, unless it be rarefied and of itself kept in equilibrio by attraction, as
above supposed : it cannot be very great, but supposing it to be proportionally
raised, as much as the sea, what will be the pressure gained, in this, upon one
square inch, at the surface of the earth, and also, at what height will the baro-
meter stand, in this case ?
Taking 12$ feet, which is about the height of the tides, or what is added to the
ocean, by the attraction of the sun and moon, either when in conjunction or oppo-
sition, and assuming J of a mile, or 1760 feet, as the average depth of the
ocean, of which 12| feet is near the 138th part ; by taking the 138th part of the
atmosphere's height of 45 miles, as above, we get .326087 parts of a mile for the ad-
ditional height of the atmosphere, gained by the force of attraction, consequently, if
45 miles press upon the surface, with a weight of 14| lbs. per square inch, 45.326,087
Digiti
zed by G00gle
1833.]
Miscellaneous.
657
miles will press with a weight of 14.856,884,072 lbs. on every square inch, and then
to get the height in inches, gained by the barometer, we have 14$ lbs. to 30 inches,
(or general height of the barometer at the level of the sea nearly,) as 14.856,884,072
lbs. to 30.217,4 inches nearly, or .217,4 decimal parts, rather more than £th of an
inch only for the measure of height, gained in the barometer, by the additional
weight of the 138th part of the total height of the atmosphere, caused by the
attraction of the sun and moon, in a similar manner, and in the same proportion,
as the tides are raised above the level of the sea.
Very nearly the same answer is obtained, by considering the atmosphere so con-
densed, as to have its specific gravity equal to that of water ; for, instead of the
former height in miles, use 34§ feet height of water, which is equal to the pressure
of the atmosphere, and higher than which a common atmosphere pump will not
raise that fluid. Then 34} feet divided by 138 as before is = .25 of a foot, therefore
34.5 feet height of water : 14.75 lbs. pressure on the square inch • \ 34 .5 +.25, (or
height of water plus its 138th part = 34.75 lbs.) : 14.856,876 lbs. pressure on a
square inch, only exceeding the former 14.856,884,072 by the .000,008,072nd part
of a lb. and proving the result of the former calculation to be correct.
In the above investigation, the specific gravities of air and water are taken as
equal, but as they differ much*, and as I have no other data, let the height of the
atmosphere be considered uniform, for 5| miles only, as before explained ; the
calculations will, on the foregoing principle, make the height, gained by the baro-
meter, equal to only j th part of an inch, which is almost an inperccptihle quan-
tity, and shews, that that instrument cannot sensibly indicate the difference of
altitude of the atmosphere, due to the attraction of the sun and moon, as sup-
posed by the Burmese Prince ; for 5|-f-138 miles==.003,804,347,8th part of a mile,
when the atmosphere is uniform, and 5J miles high, therefore, as 5.25 miles :
14.75 lbs. : ! 5.25+ .003,804,347,8 miles ! '. 14.760,688,405,7 lbs; and again, 14|lbs.
:30 inches :: 14.760,688,405,7 lbs.: 30.021,739,125 inches, or .021, 739,1 25= l , „th
part only of an inch gained in height by the barometer as above stated.
I subjoin a table of the heights of the barometer, in order that the differences,
which I have'shewn, for every month, may be observed, at the times of spring
and neap tides, in Calcutta, for the satisfaction of the Burmese philosopher, should
he think it necessary, to prosecute his inquiries any further into this subject.
Barmmter at Sunriee, (reduced to 32° F.J, at the Surveyor Generate Office, Cal-
cutta, taken from the At. Soc. Journal, vol. I, for the year 1832.
1832.
January, . .
February,
March, . .
April, ....
May, ....
June, ....
July
August, . .
September,
October, ..
November,
December,
Means. In.
30.051 ")
29.943 i
29.865
29.760
29.664
29.515
29.489
29.468
29.650
29.837
29.997
30.998 J
Monthly
Diff.
I'
108
078
105
096
149
026
021
182
187
160
001
Temperature
of Air.
54.6
61.2
66.3
74.9
79.5
80.8
80.1
80.0
79.3
74.7
64.9
55.8
Monthly
Difference.
• Viz. a 2f to 1000.
Digiti
zed by G00gle
658 Miscellaneous. [Dbc.
Reply to 1st Question.
Having attempted, as well as I am able, to satisfy the curiosity of the Bur
philosopher, on the above mentioned points, I trust I may, in return, be allowed to
put a query or two to him, relating to the moon, as well as to Comets, [which I
should, with reference to his question, suppose to have little connection with one
another, because, the former is a planet, secondary to, or dependent on, toe earth,
around which, she describes her epicycloidal course ; the earth, again, being de-
pendent on the sun, and the sun appearing to govern the Comets, as they are all
believed, or found, to pass round him ] : if his highness cannot answer these ques-
tions, I hope that some other person, equally anxious for such inves t iga t ions, will
favour me by doing so.
Question Ut.
Why may not such comets as we know of, especially those, which have extremely
elongated elliptical orbits, be considered, to possess two centres or foci within
their orbits, one of them being our sun, and the other, any other son, or star.
Would not this disposition, supposing it to have been adopted all over the universe,
have the effect of keeping the numerous systems in equilibrio, the comet Incessant-
ly acting as a link, or chain, connecting any two [or more ?] of these systems, with
the neighbouring ones ?
Question 2nd.
If the moon have no atmosphere, [as is asserted by astronomers,] how is it
possible to account for the distinct view, we sometimes obtain, of the circular dark
part, which she presents at night ; I mean, that part which is involved in shadow
when the moon is in either her first or her last quarter ?
Question 3rd.
Has it ever been ascertained, in what proportion, fluids are attracted, by the sun
and moon, [or by any other bodies,] in terms of their specific gravities?
Are they, or are they not, attracted, inversely as the cube roots of their specific
gravities ; the distances of each fluid, from the centre of attraction, being eqnal ?
Camp near Calpie, June, 1833.
I am, your obedient servant,
W. BURT, Eags.
To the Secretary, Phi. Class, Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
[europran extracts.]
9.— Cave of Secanderiah, near Tabriz.
As the celebrated Cave of Secanderiah, resembling the Grotto del Cane in Italy,
Was only distant six miles, I proceeded to the village of Secanderiah, situated at
the mouth of a very strong defile, formed by the river of Sied-abad ; and having
procured a numerous party of villagers with tools, combustibles, &c, set out
determined fully to examine the cave, or at least to ascertain to what extent the
Digitized by
Google
1833.] Miscellaneous. 659
noxious vapour existed; we also took some fowls to see the effect procured on
them. After a fatiguing walk of three miles, up rocky steep ravines, we arrived
at. the entrance qf this singular cavern, the mouth of which was fifty feet wide and
thirty feet high, descending very rapidly to a depth of thirty feet. ■
The guides set fire to some brushwood; and found the air much less noxious
than sstial \ and it was only after a descent of \Q feet that we felt any inconveni-
ence We -were absolutely standing on the bones of some animals which had
peHihed there upon a former occasion ; we remarked a dog, a deer, and two
foxes, : the head of a wolf lay at some distance. We, at the same time, put to
flight a great number of pigeons, who build in the roof of the cave. We found
that fire was extinguished at. a few feet below where we stood, and the fowls died
in half a minute. The sides- of the cave had many marks of sulphur in powder
amemgst the soft sand and limeatone, which were also strongly coloured with iron.
Though the '■ fire made with dry brush-wood and thorns, even when sprinkled with
naphtha, was instantly extinguished, port*. fires and fuses burnt nearly the same
time as in the open air. I was, therefore, enabled to fire a quantity of gunpowder
at the very bottom. The quantity amounted* to several pounds at the time, and
that repeated- often, had the effect of so entirely .filling the cave with smoke, that
we" could no longer see any thing at. the bottom. On again throwing in some
fowls, they soon made their escape, and .fire burnt at the bottom. I would not,
however, ' allow any of the people to descend which they appeared willing to do ;
a dog also ran in and returned in a few. minutes;. On a former occasion, when
. this cave was.visited by a party of the Missjo*n, accompanied by Mr. Browne, the
celebrated African traveller, fire would not tutor two feet below the entrance, and
oppression was felt close at the mouth oftfteiaye.': Mr. Browne entered some
paces by 'holding his breath, but an English ' officer httacaed to the Mission had
nearly perished in attempting to follow' him. He" was instantly dragged out, and
recovered with some difficulty. In the winter*, (subsequently to my second visit),
* after a strong gale, the wind from the N. W,»had blown for some days directly in-
to the mouth pf the cave : we were enabled to walk all prer it, and only in a deep
ihole, at the bottom, did there 4xist any.,jj(twupu» air. T\iere a fowl died in two
ininutea, and from its cries appeared to* puffer Ynu'ch. • After sixty feet, we found
the cave again ; ascended, and curved x little^ to» tti$ right: it then became exceed-
ingly narrow "and very low,' forming a if ind <£ -.pasaagft,* <Wlr(cb did not allow of
^standing up ; we coulc}'«not sea to "the 'end of this even .with a reflecting lamp,
2and none of .us felt inclined to pTe*ecute -the discovery; . I Itirt x>nly mentioned
•fttese circumstances to , prove how- much the •. extent. and force bf the vapour are
.affected by the state of the' atmosphere, -and by particular circumstances. As the
ground slopes rapidly from the nrouth of. the cavern,.' both' 4o .the, ravine and
inwards, it might be cleared away ^with " little difficulty; and the heavy noxious
gas thus allowed to pass off; but with- the exception of forming a large winter
stable for sheep, no other good ptttpose could be answered by it; there was
formerly a human skeleton, which has been removed; it was that of an old man
in the village, who, tired of life, took this way* of ending his ntisery.) the peasants
considered the . circumstances of the cave being accessible little short of a mira-
cle, but were ' much disappointed at not finding, the treasure said to have been
deposited there py Alexander, from whom i> derives its name. — Montettk'* Tour.
Jour. Geog. Soc. ill. 6. '"•.•,.'
Digiti
zed by G00gle
660
Meteorological Register.
[Dec. 1833.
re
cS
E a
VUllI.M-.-l
•uoom
■3ainn»iv
•8UI03A3
•aoox
■Sintuoi^
re -d f %\
5 wirt ^i?08eo©oooo«|§cSas*3gc' c o5g
$ • 4
: c o 5 o •= c 3 <
go „gU o u c eg *S u
. <u aj
d^ded^dicddUdcccefcd^fcddcxdcddde
fc>88fr M CfE a 8888&88<g888888 8ft 8 C 8 g
if
1 s
s
_ s
Bg&gS8fttttt|3888388S8S88a*88MMa
I
8 4
^ ai ■ ?: t^^r « 3C 5S 35 «C » 3i *-£ «**•»•£ «S rs •* ■£ t^'sP tsx» so r-r»
I
i- — —
-*1
•K -Yfy IV
1 §» £"
£d£d££tf £<££tf AfnM&dna sees a -3 3
•K 'd t JV
tS££8£f&:££ S f£ K ! : n S SJtS isfri ri £ r: r: £ 8 9 ii R fc
•iau l -3 j)i I aoN=r«-s*«^ccc>*CN «J c-. «; ce « 3 3 rt t^- « » • -
■it -voi 5v | rf^ggR|:^^jcR^RK^fe^R&8888l?8Wfe
8 £5
^ a-
ill
J9j
. K . V U 1V I »C - r> Mil* * " o» e: » «l "* « = "*. -. '* S 3 ?1 "5 3 ""- x - * c - ""- " ^S I S "*
^
1
I • ■
i|i|l|||2||,|s§|
; pJJJg||i|lIIIili|I2g||S
?*1
,;.,- | . ,v
■qiuom jo Aea
ii!ftt§!!.5!imm3^tftllH
- w w* «: i£ t>»a c. 3 -
5 t H » NS ?; C - ?i f) "* L * r ^S ? a E
8*1
5>5
Digitized by
Google
INDEX.
Page.
Abbas Mirza, Prince of Persia, .... 147
Abfi, Jain Temples of, 161
Adi Budha System, 59
A. K.'s Note on Trisection, 159
Ali Mardan Khan's Canal, 109
Alluvium, Calcutta, Section of, 371
Alum, Native, of Nipal, 482
Analysis of Books,. . . . 380, 417, 551, 597
Analyses, Chemical, 434
Analysis of Coal, 963, 264, 368, 549,
596, 647
— t>f Limestone, 402
ofSalajit,. 482
of Sulphate of Iron, 321
of Ashes of Plants, 322
Ancient Canals in Delhi, 106
Annealing, Effects of, on Metals, . . 141
Arts, Indian, Notices of, . . 158, 299, 249
Asiatic Society, (See Society.)
Astronomy, Report on, 48
Astronomical Observations, Madras, 380
•. , at Barelly, 318
Attraction, on the Laws of, 441
Ava, Mines of, 75
— Richardson's Route from, 59
Ayoon-ool Hisib, Extract from, 552
Bactrian Coins, Note on, . . 37, 312, 405
Balkh, Description of, 15
Bamian Idols, Account of the, 561
Baneoora* Climate of, 383
Banyan Tree in Mysore, 47
Barometer, Extraordinary Fall of, . . 427
, on Compensation, 258
— -, Thermometrical, 194
, Wet, Theory of, 260, 644
Barometrical Elevations, 621, 643
Batavian Researches, Analysis of, . . 597
Bees' Love for Mango, 355
Bh£ratpur, Marriage at, 273
Bhurja, Mountain Birch, 337
Birds, Catalogue of, in Dholbhum, . 597
Boileau's (Capt.) Description of Agra
Sun-dial 261
Bokhara, Gerard's Account of, ... . 21
, Barnes* Description of, 224
• , to Mesbid, Gerard's Route
from, 143
Bombay Harbour, Rise.of Spring-
tides in, 247
Bones in Hyderabad Caves, 77
' , Fossil, of Jabalpur, 151,205, 586
-, of the Jamna, 629
> Human, in France 632
, in Delta alluvium, 649
Borabhum, Birds of r 569
Boring Experiment, Report on, ... . 369
P*go
Boston, Ice Trade of, 491
Botany, Indian, Notice of, 156
Boulder son, (H. S.) on Barometer at
Barelly, &c 644
Bramley, (M. J.) Nipal Articles pre-
sented by, 367
Brewster, (Dr.) on coloured lights, . 494
Bridge, Rustic, 267
, Suspension, near Sagar, .... 638
Budhist. Sect of Sakya, 385
Burt, (Lieut.) Replies to the Ques-
tions of the Burmese Prince, .... 653
Burnes' (Lieut. A.) Account of Tem-
ples on Mount Adu, 161
*■ Description of Bokhara,. . . . 224
Route to Bokhara, 1
■ on the Bamian Idols, 661
— — on Salt Works of Panchpad-
der, 365
Bute of Bamian, Description of, . . 7, 561
Calidasa's Poem, Uma, 329
Campbell, (Dr. A.) on Earthquake of
Nipal, 564, 636
, (A.) on Salajit, 482
Canal, Delhi, Description of, 105
, Doab, Ditto, Ill
, of Feroz Shah, 114
Capila vastu, a Town in Rohilkhund, 385
Catalogue of Indian Woods,. 168
- of Nebula?, Herschell's,&c. 252
. of the As. Soc Museum, 97
Caves, at Secanderiah, 658
Cedar Tree, 343
Census of Mftgshedabad, 567
Charak-puja, 5^ 609
Coal from Arracan, 263
from Hoshungabad, 435, 647
from Moradabad, 264
from Peshawar, 267
, Khyook Phyoo, 549, 596
, Syneg Kyong, 369 ; Oogadong, 368
Mines of Sylhet, Discovery
of, 47
Cochineal of Herat, 652
Coins in Asiatic Society's Cabinet,. . 27
, Bactrian 37,312,405
, Hindu, 316, 412, 649
— , Mahomedan, 39
, Roman, from Buxar, 368
dug up in the Sunderbans,. . . . 204
Collection for the Museum, 688
Colvin, (Major) on Delhi Canals, . . 105
Conybeare, (Rev.) on Indian Geology, 606
Copper Mines of Nellore, 95
Cracroft, (W.) Experiments in Radi-
«40
Digiti
zed by G00gle
662
INDEX.
Page.
Csoma,A. de KSrdYs MSS. of Kah-
gyur, 367
on Sakya Race, 385
on the Kali
Chakra, or Adi Bndha System, . . 67
's Translation of
a Tibetan Passport, 202
D'Amato Guiseppe's Description of
Ava Mines, 75
Delhi Student's Journal, 19
Dholbhum, Birds of, 597
Diamond Mines, 403
Doab Canal, Water Mills of, 360
Dost Mahomed Khan, 3
Dngong, Notice of the, 100
Dam Dam, Bones discovered at, . . 649
Dyeing of Kharwa Cloth, &c 151
Earthquake in Nipal, 438, 664, 636
Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites, at
Chuprah, 41
Everest's (Rev. R.) Geological Re-
marks, 547
• on Temperature of
Ghaxipur, 602
Evaporation at Bokhara, 17
Ewer's,(W.) Observations of Jupiter's
Satellites, 41
Fish, Fall of, from the Sky, 650
Flowers, Celestial, Fall of, 351
Fossil Bones, 151, 905, 586, 699, 632, 649
Shells, .... 94, 205, 270, 583, 639
Zoology, 465
Gale, 21st May, 1833, 427
, 7th Oct. 1833, 482
Garjan Oil, 93
Geddes {Dr. W.) on the Climate of
Nagpur, 339
Geological Society's Instructions, . . 557
Geology, Mirsapur to Sagar, .. .. 475
— of Hyderabad, 298, 392
■ of India, Sketch of, 605
of Tenasserim Archipelago, 157
Gerard's (Capt. P.) Met. Obs 615
■■ (Dr. J.) Route from Bokhara
toMeshid, 143
——— Note from Herat, .. 652
Ghaghar, Sandy bed of the, 108
Ghaxipur, Temperature of, 602
Gold, Dilatation of, by Heat, 142
Mines, of Mount Ophir, 497
■ Sandin Moradabad District, . . 265
Greek Coins, Account of, 27
Hanuman's Exploits . . . , . . 348
Heights, Measurement of,. . 194, 621, 645
Herbert, (Cant. J. D.) Death of. . . . 495
Herschell's (Sir J. S. W.) Catalogue
of Remarkable Stars, 253
Himalaya, Legend of, 329
Hindu Coins, 412, 649
Kush, 5
Hodgson's Nipal Zoology, 418
(B. H.) on NipalMiUtary
Tribes, 217
Hot Spring of Pachete, 46
Hutton (TO on Tailor Bird's Nest,. . 502
• f Strictures on, 374
Hyde, (Dr.) Extract from, 903
Hyderabad, Geology of, 298, 392
Ice, Manufacture of, so
— , Importation of, 491
Indian States, Area of, 488
Indo-scythic Coins, 405
Inscription, Ancient, of Cevlon. . . 548
, Arabic, at ;Chand£ri, . . 543
Iron Mines, 403
Suspension Bridge, 533
Jain Temples on Mount Abu, 161
Japanese Mirror, Dr. Brewster's Ex-
planation of, fcl4
Jeffreys (J.) on Laws of Attraction
and Repulsion, 441, 506
Journal, Madras literary, 557
Journey from Ava to Kendit, 69
Kabul, Description of, 3
Kaia Chakra System, Origin of,. . . . 57
Kali Kishen, Raja, on the Tula, 615
— ■ 1 on Persian
Writing, 613
Keinaon, Report on the Bhotia Me-
hals of, 551
Kerr, Copper Specimens sent by Mr. 94
Kukiimb-kaTel, 593
Light, Effect of Coloured, 494
Limiean Soc, Extracts from Proceed-
ing of 156
Lloyd, (Lieut.) Catalogue of his Spe-
cimens isy
L. D.'s Remarks on Hutton, 374
Lloyd's (Capt.) Temperature of Nag-
pur, 545
Lushington, (G. T.) on the Jats, 273
McRitchie's Meteorological Register
at Bancoora, 393
Madras, Lit.Soc. Proceedings of. 154, 550
Malcolmson (Dr.) on Caves near Hy-
derabad, 77
, on Fossil Bones, 94
, on Saline Deposits, .... 77
Manufacture, Native, of Turpentine, 243
Marriage of the Jats, 154, 273
Mauritius, Contributions from, 95
Metals, Expansion of, 130
Meteorological Register, Bijnore, . . 906
, Bankura, 383
■ , Chinsurah, 66
, G&zipur,.. 604
, Kotgarh, .615
, M ozuferpur , 2GS
,Nagpur, 239,543
■ ■ — — , Singapur,. 429
, for Calcutta
at the end of each month.
Metre of Hindu Poetry, 330
Military Tribes of Nipal, 217
Milking of the Earth. 332
Mill, (Rev. Principal**) Translation
of Uma, 329
Mirror, Japanese, explained, . . .... 214
Mirrors, of Fusible Alloy, 559
Mines of Jewels in Ava, ....*. 75
Monteith's Description of Persia, . . 658
Moorcroft, Grave of, if
zed by G00gle
INOSX.
668
Page.
Mor&dBeg, 11
Morrieson's, Trisection of an Angle, 71
Mozoiferpur, Climate of, 908
Murshedabad, Census of, 66?
Museum, Catalogue of, 97
Nagpur, Climate of, 239, 642
Nash, (D. W.) On Progressive Deve-
lopment of the Vertebrata, 466
Newbold, (Lt. J. T.) Journal of, . . . 491
Nipal, Military Tribes of, 217
Paper stuff, ...... 93, 101, 417
Zoology,...., 101,273
Observations of Lunar transits, .. 432
Oliver, (Col. T.) Astr. Obs., 432
Onslow, (W.) Coins presented by, . . 94
Ophir, Visit to Mount, 197
Opium, Substances in, 496
Ornithology of Dholbhum, 697
Oxus River, 16
Panchaki, Description of, 369
Panchpadder Salt works, . . . V 366
PesMwar to Bokhara, Route from,. . 1
Pearson, (J.-F.) on Coll. Nat. Hist. 688
— i on Strychnia, .... 42
— on Zoological paper
of Asiatic Researches, 417
■ on Spiraculum,. . . . 690
Pottery Glazed, account of. 209
Presgrave's (Major D.) Bridge at
Sagar, 638
Prinsep, (J.) Account of Greek Coins, 27
— — Persian do. 36, 40
Bactrian ditto, 37, 405
> — Hind6 ditto, 472, 649
— — — Chemical Analyses, .. 434
— Description of a Com-
pensation Barometer, 258
— — Experiments on the Expan-
sion of Metals, 130
— Note on Nagpur Climate, 532
— -« on Boiling Point, .... 194
— — on Coins, 405
■ on Jabalpur Fossils, . . 583
on Jamna Fossils,. . . . 622
Proceedings, see Society.
Progress of European Science, .... 48
Protraction, mode of correcting,. ... 79
Questions of Burmese Prince, . . 47, 653
Radiation, Experiments on, 649
Railway, Liverpool, 659
Ramcomul Sen, on the Ch&rAk-puja, 689
Ravenshaw's (E. J.) Meteorological
Register of Bijnore, 207
— — —— on Coal of Mo-
radabad, 264
Reply to Burmese Prince, 653
Report on Boring, 369
on Publication, 323
— — on Sylhet Collection, 588
Repulsion, Laws of, 456, 606
Revenue from Delhi Canals 126
Richardson's March from Ava to
Kend£t, 59
Robinson's Anatomy of the Dugong, 100
Route, Mode of Protracting correct-
ed 70
Page.
Royle, (Dr.) Collections of, 156
Russian Slaves in Bokhara, 237
Sagur, Fossil Shells of, 376, 642
, Geology of, 478
Salajit of Nipal, 4 82
Saline Deposits in Hyderabad, .... 77
Saltpetre, Manufacture of 23
Salt-works of Panchpadder, 366
Sanskrit Poem, Uma, 357
Satellites of Jupiters, Eclipses, .... 41
Schlegel, Prof, on Bactrian Coins, . . 407
Shakya Race, Origin of, 385
Shells, Recent and Fossil, 270
Singapur, Climate of, 428
Silver, Dilatation of, by heat, .... 342
S. J. on Trisection, 43$
Society, Asiatic, Proceedings of, 43,
91, 149, 213, 262, 323, 367, 546,.. 646
Society, Literary, of Madras, 154
Society, Roval, Anniversary, 375
Spilsbury, On Fossil Elephant, 586
■ — On Fossil Bones, ... 151, 206
Spry, (Dr. H. H.) Fossil Shell dis-
covered by 375
Fossil Shells 639
Standard Bar, Expansion of, 13&
Stephenson on Salajit, 605
■ on Saltpetre manufac-
tory 23
Strychnia, New Mode of Preparing. 42
Sundial at Agra, \..*. 251
Sutherland, (Capt. J.) on Indian
States, 480
Swiney's, (Dr.) Ancient Coins, .... 405
Swinton, (G.) Farewell Address to, 94
Table of Boiling Points, 199
of Multipliers for the tempera-
ture of Air, 200)
— of Shells, WWW. 27©
— of Meridional Lengths. . . * 271
-of Nipal Military Tribes 21*
Tailor-Bird, Nest of the 502, 649
Taylor's Ast. Obs. Madras 3*0
Thermometer, measurement of heights
with, 1 04
Thor, Hindu parallel to, [.WW. 349
Tibetan Passport, Translation of a. ! 201
Ticket, (Lt. J.) Description of Bints, 597
Tides in Bombay Harbour, 247
Tides, Desiderata regarding, ....'.! 151
Traill's Report on Kemaon, 651
Trebeck, Grave of, 14
Trisection Instrument, Defence of,! . 486
-, Problem of, 71
Turpentine, Manufacture of, 249
Tytler (J.) on Arabic Extraction of
, Roots, Ma
Vertebrata, Progressive Develop-
ment of, 4453
Voysey's Geological Reports,.. 298, 392
Uma, Legend of, 329
Unicorn Fish, Accident from, ....!" 647
Wallich's (Dr. N.) Catalogue of In-
dian Woods, i6 7
Warlow's Catalogue of Mammalia
and Birds, 97
Digiti
zed by G00gle
664 INDBX.
Page. P*§t.
Water-mill, Native, 359 Wylie's (Dr.) Meteorological Obter-
Wise's (Dr.) Experiments on Ice, . . 80 rations, 543
Woollaston's Thermometrical Baro- Yak, Bos Grunniens 342
meter, 194 Zoological, Indian, Catalogues of, . . 377
Woods, Indian, Catalogues of, .... 167 Note on,..* 417
igitized by VjX3( ^£
J
Digitized by
Google
Si.
V
Digitized by
Google
Digitized by j
z~^-*-r to be
Digitized byVjUUVlC
™GooQled
■ *.'
H EH I
■ -
■ -*> I
I
-
k r:^r_<
^^M
M